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ELLIPSIS  IN  OLD  FRENCH 


ELLIPSIS  IN  OLD  FRENCH 


WILLIAM  EDWIN  KNICKERBOCKER 


SUBMITTED  IN  PARTIAL   FULFILMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS   FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF 

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY,   IN  THE  FACULTY  OF  PHILOSOPHY, 

COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


NEW  YORK 
191  I 


TO  MY  WIFE 

This  Work  Is  Affectionately 
Dedicated 


232999 


NOTE. 

The  following  dissertation  waa  examined  by  the  De- 
partment of  Eomanee  Languages  and  Literatures  of 
Columbia  University  and,  being  accounted  a  valuable 
tho  at  certain  interesting  points  a  debatable  contribu- 
tion to  the  history  of  Old  French  syntax,  was  accepted 
in  partial  fulfilment  of  the  requirement  for  the  degree 
of  doctor  of  philosophy. 

Henry  Alfred  Todd. 

Columbia  University,  January,  1911. 


PEEFACE. 

The  subject  of  the  present  study  was  suggested  by 
Professor  Henry  A.  Todd,  of  Columbia  University,  and 
a  paper  on  this  topic  was  written  for  the  Seminar  in 
Komance  Philology  conducted  by  him.  This  work  was 
the  beginning  of  the  investigations  whose  results  are 
herein  recorded.  The  author  is  deeply  indebted  to  Pro- 
fessor Todd,  and  gladly  takes  this  opportunity  to  express 
sincere  appreciation  of  his  constant  kindness  and  learned 
advice. 

The  author  also  acknowledges  with  gratitude  his  in- 
debtedness to  Professor  Adolphe  Cohn,  Professor  Carlo 
L.  Speranza  and  Professor  Louis  A.  Loiseaux  for  the 
training  he  received  from  them  as  a  student  of  Eomance 
languages  and  literatures. 

W.  E.  K. 

New  York  City,  Januaby,  1911. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Introduction 15 

Texts   Examined    17 

Principal  Works  Consulted 19 

Periodicals  Consulted    21 


CHAPTEB 

I.  Coalescence    23 

Preposition  a   23 

Preposition  de   25 

Conjunction    et    (no    ellipsis;    correction    of 

readings )    26 

Adverb  i  (y)   26 

Le,  la,  les  before  W,  lor 27 

Non-ellipsis  of  Ze,  to,  les  before  li,  lor 29 

Conjunction  se 30 

Pronoun  se  30 

II.  Non-repetition    of    closely    recurring    words    and 

syllables  33 

Preposition  de   33 

Pronoun  en  (note  on  its  personal  use) 34 

Verb  merd — origin  of  the  Modern  French  use 

of  merci  expressing  thanks 34 

Mes — airb  kolvov    (see  p.  41) 37 

Adverb  ne  37 

Conjunction  que 38 

Sufax  -ment 39 

Prefixes 

BeS'  39 

S'entre-    (note  on  atonic  form  of  the  re- 
flexive pronoun  before  an  infinitive) 39 

Re- 40 

Groups  of  Words — an-d  KOivov     41 

III.  The  Noun 43 

Non-repetition  of  the  Noun 45 


12  TAiiLE  OF  Contents. 

PAGE 

IV.  The  Adjective  48 

The  Possessive  Adjective 49 

The  Article  49 

The  Definite  Article 50 

The  Indefinite  Article 53 

Non-repetition  of  the  Adjective 53 

The  Possessive  Adjective 54 

The  Definite  Article 54 

V.  The  Pronoun 56 

The     Nominative     Pronoun — origin     of     the 

Modern  French  form  of  interrogation . .  66 

The  Accusative  Pronoun 57 

Simple  ellipsis  (see  reflexive  pronoun) ....  57 

Before  a  Dative  Pronoun 58 

Noun  serving  as  object  to  two  verbs 59 

Referring  to  a  phrase  or  fact 60 

The  Predicate  Pronoun  (use  of  si) 61 

The  Reflexive  Pronoun 63 

Origin  of  the  stressed  form  of  the  Pro- 
noun before  an  Infinitive  governed  by 

a  Preposition   (63)-68 

Verbs  used  refiexively  and  non-reflexively  70 

Reflexive  Verbs  72 

Non-reflexive  Verbs   73 

After  Prepositions 76 

Before  a  repetition  of  the  Pronoun 78 

The  Dative  Pronoun 78 

L'  =  li 78 

Pronoun  en 79 

Demonstrative  Pronoun  cil 81 

Demonstrative  Pronoun  ce 83 

The  Relative  Pronoun 85 

Indeflnite  qui  ("  whoever  ") 86 

Non-repetition  of  the  Pronoun 87 

The  Accusative  Pronoun 87 

Pronoun  in  the  Dative  Case  not  repeated 

in  the  Accusative 88 

The  Reflexive  Pronoun 89 


Table  of  Contents.  13 

V.  The  Pronoun — Continued.  page 

The  Dative  Pronoun 89 

Pronoun   in   the   Accusative   Case   not   re- 
peated in  the  Dative 90 

Pronoun  en  91 

Demonstrative  Pronouns  oil  and  ce 91 

The  Relative  Pronoun 91 

VI.  The  Verb 93 

Causative  Verb  faire 95 

The  Infinitive  with  pooir 99 

Auxiliary  Verb  avoir  omitted  when  replacing 

estre    100 

In  the  second  term  of  a  comparison 100 

Before  the  repetition  of  the  Verb 100 

Non-repetition  of  the  Verb 100 

In  the  same  form  with  the  same  word  for 

the  subject 100 

In  the  same  form  with  a  different  word  for 

the  subject 103 

In  coordinate  clauses  of  parallel  construc- 
tion       103 

Origin  of  the  use  of  a  singular  verb  with 

a  plural  subject (103)-105 

Form  of  the  Verb  variable,  with  the  same 

word  for  the  subject 106 

Depending  on  a  Verb  in  a  second  clause. . .   106 

8e  .  .  .  non    106 

In  a  different  form  referring  to  a  different 

subject    108 

Faire  que  sages — meaning  of  qu^ 108 

Verb  replaced  by  faire 112 

In  the  second  term  of  a  comparison 112 

VII.  The  Adverb   113 

Non-repetition  of  the  Adverb 117 

Modifying  Verbs   117 

Modifying  Adjectives  120 

Modifying  Adverbs 121 

VIII.  The  Preposition   122 

A    122 

The  Indirect  Object 124 

Before  dependent  infinitives 126 


14  Table  of  Contents. 

VIII.  The  Preposition — Continued.  page 

De    126 

With  Nouns  and  Adverbs  of  Quantity 128 

Use  of  de  with  the  Article  before  Adverbs 

of  Quantity 128 

En,  o,  par 129 

Pot    131 

Use  of  que  in  the  sense  of  "  why  " 131 

Non-repetition  of  the  Preposition 133 

IX.  The  Conjunction    137 

Non-repetition  of  the  Conjunction 140 

X.  The  Phrase   145 

Au    145 

Introduced  by  de 145 

Por  savoir 147 

Introduced  by  que 147 

In  expressions  in  which  que  is  followed  by 

an  Infinitive   147 

Probable  origin  of  qui  ainz  ainz 149 

In  expressions  such  as  faire  que  sages  (see 

p.  108 ) ,  saluer  come  frans 149 

Origin  of  the  Modern  French  use  of  et  qui  for 

qui   150 

After  si 150 

After  tant   150 

After  trop   151 

Formation  of  the  superlative 151 

Caused    by    a    following    expression    of    the 

same  idea    153 

Non-repetition  of  the  Phrase 152 

After  si  and  tant 153 

In  a  different  form 153 

OiCy  oil,  naie,  nenil 153 

Conclusion   155 

Vita   157 


IJSTTRODUCTIOK 

Ellipsis  is  the  omission  of  words  or  groups  of  words 
which  are  obviously  understood.  When,  then,  a  word  is 
not  used  in  cases  in  which  usage  has  not  made  its  em- 
ployment of  such  regular  occurrence  as  to  cause  its  omis- 
sion to  be  felt  as  such,  there  is  no  true  case  of  ellipsis. 
Certain  omissions  of  this  kind,  however,  are  necessarily 
included  in  a  study  of  ellipsis. 

In  Old  French,  ellipsis  divides  itself  into  two  classes : 
(1)  conscious  or  intentional  omission — as.  Come  il 
chanja  (sc.  color),  come  il  pali,  Cliges  4364 — by  far  the 
more  usual,  and  found  probably  in  all  languages;  (2) 
unconscious  or  unintentional  omission — as,  il  ira  for 
il  i  ira — which  is  the  result  of  a  purely  phonetic  develop- 
ment. On  a  division  of  the  first  class — that  of  the  non- 
repetition  of  words — there  have  been  written  three  dis- 
sertations— ^by  H.  Hirschberg,  L.  Klatt  and  E.  Lotz — 
which,  however,  are  incomplete,  and  do  not  preclude  its 
treatment  here. 

In  our  study  of  the  ellipses  found  in  Old  French — 
which  are  particularly  numerous  as  the  language  did 
not  undergo  the  conservative  influence  of  grammarians 
— the  ordinary  omissions  have  been  given  only  the  small 
attention  they  have  seemed  to  require,  while  the  more  in- 
teresting ellipses  have  received  detailed  exposition,  often 
leading  to  attempts  to  explain  their  origin  (see,  e.  g., 
Chapters  I  and  II,  particularly  ''  le,  la,  les  before  li,  lor/' 
p.  27,  and  '' merci/'  p.  34;  the  origin  of  the  Modern 
French  form  of  interrogation,  p.  56;  the  use  of  the 


16  Introduction. 

stressed  form  of  the  pronoun  before  an  infinitive  gov- 
erned by  a  preposition,  p.  68;  a  singular  verb  with  a 
plural  subject,  p.  105;  que  meaning  "why/^  p.  131;  qui 
ainz  ainz,  p.  149) ;  and  concerning  certain  words  and 
constructions,  attempts  have  also  been  made  to  give  a 
clearer  conception  of  their  meaning  (as  fair&  que  sages 
etc.,  p.  108)  and  of  their  use  (the  personal  use  of  en, 
p.  34;  atonic  pronouns  before  infinitives,  p.  39;  V  for 
the  dative  li,  p.  78;  qui,  p.  85;  verbs  with  a  causative 
meaning,  p.  95;  ne,  p.  37,  etc.). 

For  this  study,  texts  of  the  earliest  centuries  only  have 
been  examined — from  the  Serments  de  Strasbourg 
through  the  twelfth  century,  and  Deu  le  omnipotent  of 
the  thirteenth  century — as  showing  the  ellipsis  and  usage 
of  the  language  at  the  earliest  stage  possible. 

It  is  believed  that  the  Table  of  Contents  has  been 
made  sufficiently  complete  to  render  an  index  super- 
fluous. 


TEXTS  EXAMINED 

WITH  INDICATION  OF  ABBREVIATIONS  EMPLOYED. 

Serments  Strasb.    Les  Serments  de  Strasbourg,  in  Les  plus 

anciens  monuments  de  la  langue  frangaise,  E.  Kosch- 

witz,  Leipzig,  1902. 
Ste.  Eul.    Prose  de  sainte  Eulalie.    See  Serments  Strasb. 
Pass.    La  Passion  du  Christ.    See  Serments  Strasb. 
St.  L6g.    La  Vie  de  saint  Leger.    See  Serments  Strasb. 
Gorm.    Fragment  de  Oormund  et  Isemhard,  Robert  Heillg- 

brodt,  in  Boehmer's  Romanische  Studien,  3   (1878),  p. 

501  ff. 
St.  Alex.    La  Vie  de  saint  Alexis,  G.  Paris  and  L.  Pannier, 

Paris,  1887. 
P61.  de  Ch.     (Pdlerinage  de  Charlemagne)  Earls  des  gros- 

sen  Reise  nach  Jerusalem  und  Const antinopel,  E.  Kosch- 

witz,  Leipzig,  1900. 
Rol.    La  Chanson  de  Roland,  L.  C16dat,  Paris,  sixth  edition. 
Alb6ric,  Fragment  de  VAlheric  de  Besangon,  in  K.  Bartsch's 

Chrestomathie  de  Vancien  frangais,  p.  17;  Leipzig,  1884. 
Gr6g.     La  Vie  du  Pape  Gregoire  le  Grand,  V.  Luzarche, 

Tours,  1857. 
Reim.     Reimpredigt   {Grant  mal  fist  Adam),  H.   Sucliier, 

Halle,  1879. 
Epoux,  Le  Mystdre  de  VEpoux.    See  Serments  Strasb. 
Erec,  Erec  und  Enide,  W.  Foerster,  Halle,  1896. 
Clig.    Cligis,  W.  Foerster,  Halle,  1901. 
Auc.    Aucassin  et  Nicolete,  H.  Suchier,  French  edition  by 

A.  Counson,  Paderborn,  1903. 
Ch.  L.     {Le  Chevalier  au  Lyon)  Tvain,  W.  Foerster,  Halle, 

1906. 
Omnip.    Deu  le  omnipotent.    See  Reim. 

Alterations  in  passages  quoted  from  the  above  works  have 
been  made  as  follows:    In  citations  taken  from  the  Passion, 
Gormund  et  Isemhard,  Grant  mal  fist  Adam,  Aucassin  et 
2 


18  Texts  Examined. 

Nicolete  and  Deu  le  omnipotent,  capitals  have  been  used  to 
indicate  the  first  word  of  each  verse;  in  those  from  the 
Passion  and  Gormund  et  Isemhard,  the  sign  under  the  u, 
showing  its  close  sound,  has  been  omitted,  as  well  as  the 
letters  in  parenthesis  in  the  latter  poem,  in  which  also  the 
letters  in  brackets  have  been  inserted. 


PEINCIPAL  WOEKS  CONSULTED. 

Appel,  C. — Provenzalische  Chrestomathie,  Leipzig,  1902. 
Bartsch,   K. — Chrestomathie   de   Vancien   frangais,   Leipzig, 

1884. 
Bergmann,  K. — Die  Ellipse  im  Neufranzosischen,  Freiburg, 

1908. 
Beyer,  B. — Ueber  den  Oebrauch  von  "  tout "  im  Alt-  und  im 

Neufranzosischen,  Diss.  72  pp.,  Berlin,  1905. 
Constans,    L. — Chrestomathie    de    Vancien    frangais,    Paris, 

1906. 
Corte,  W. — Ueber  die  ivirklichen  und  scheinbaren  Ellipsen 

im  Franzosischen,  Zerbst;  Pt.  I,  1857;  Pt.  II,  1863;  Pt. 

Ill,  1870. 
Darmesteter,  A. — Vie  des  mots,  Paris,  1887. 
.     Historical   French   Grammar,   English   edition  by 

A.  Hartog,  London,  1899. 
Diez,  P. — Orammatik  der  romanischen  Sprachen,  Bonn,  1882. 
Ebering,  E. — Syntaktische  Studien  zu  Froissart,  in  Zts.  f.  r. 

Ph.,  5,  323-376. 
E5tienne,  B. — Essai  de  grammaire  de  Vancien  frangais,  Paris,  ^^^-^^ 

1895. 
Fredenhagen,  H. — Ueber  den  Oebrauch  des  Artikels  in  der 

franzosischen  Prosa  des  XIII.  Jahrhunderts,  Beihefte  zu 

Zts.  f.  r.  Ph.,  Heft  3. 
Gebhardt,   C. — Zur  subjektlosen  Konstruktion  im  Alt  fran- 
zosischen, in  Zts.  f.  r.  Ph.,  vol.  20  (1896),  pp.  27-50. 
Gelbrich,  P. — Remarques  sur  Vemploi  de  Varticle  en  vieux 

frangais,  Diss.  79  pp.,  Langenbielau,  1881. 
Gessner,  E. — Programm  zur  Lehre  vom  franzosischen  Pro- 

nomen,  Berlin,  1873. 
Godefroy,  F. — Dictionnaire  de  Vancienne  langue  frangaise, 

Paris,  1881,  10  vol. 
Grober,  G. — Orundriss  der  romanischen  Philologie,  Strass- 

burg,  1888-1901. 
Hirschberg,    H. — Au^lassung   und   Stellvertretung   im   Alt- 

franzosischen,  Diss.  49  pp.,  Gottingen,  1878. 
Horning,  A. — Le  pronom  neutre  "  il "  en   langue  d'o'il,  in 

Rom.  Stud.,  4,  229  ff. 


20  Principal  Works  Consulted. 

Johannssen,  H. — Der  Ausdruck  des  Concessivverhdltniss  im 

Altfranzosischen,  Diss.  70  pp.,  Kiel,  1884. 
/  Johnston,  O. — Use  of  "  le,  la,  les  "  before  "  me,  te,  nous,  vous, 

'  lui,  leur  "  in  Old  French,  in  Mod.  Lang.  Notes,  vol.  15 

(1900),  pp.  1-12. 
Klatt,    L. — Die    Wiederholung    und    Auslassung    gewisser 

Form-  Oder  Bestimmungsworter  in  der  Prosa  des  XIII. 

Jahrhunderts,  Diss.  24  pp.,  Kiel,  1878. 
Koch,   H. — Der  Artikel   im   altfranzosischen  Rolandsliede^ 

Diss.  63  pp.,  Greifswald,  1902. 
Le  Coultre,  J. — De  Vordre  des  mots  dans  Grestien  de  Troyes, 

in  Programm  des  Vitzthumschen  Gymnasiums,  Dresden, 

1875. 
Lotz,  E. — Auslassung,  Wiederholung  und  Stellvertretung  im 

Altfranzosischen,  Diss.  41  pp.,  Marburg,  1885. 

Maetzner,  E. — Franzosische  Grammatik,  Berlin,  1885. 

w       Meyer-Lubke,  W. — Chrammaire  des  langues  romanes,  Paris, 

1890-1906. 
Nyrop,  K. — Grammaire  historique  de  la  langue  frangaise, 

Copenhagen;  vol.  1  (second  ed.),  1904;  vol.  2,  1903;  vol. 

3,  1908. 
Paris,   G. — La  litterature  frangaise  au  moyen  dge,  Paris, 

1905. 
Perle,  F. — Die  Negation  im  Altfranzosischen,  in  Zts.  f.  r. 

Ph.,  2,  1-24  and  407-418. 
Ritchie,  R. — Recherches  sur  la  syntaxe  de  la  conjonction 

*•  que  "  dans  Vancien  frangais.  Diss.  197  pp.,  Paris,  1907. 
Schayer,   S. — Zur  Lehre  vom  Gehrauch  des  unhestimmten 

Artikels  und  des  Teilungsartikels  im  Altfranzosischen 

und  im  Neufranzosischen,  in  Berliner  Beitrage,  Diss. 

152  pp.,  1897. 
Schuchardt,  H. — Transitive  yerl)en  aus  intransitiv-reflexiven, 

in  Zts.  f.  r.  Ph.,  32   (1908),  p.  231  ff. 
Schulze,  A. — Die  Wortstellung  im  altfranzosischen  direkten 

Fragesatze,  in  Herrigs  Archiv,  71,  pp.  185-212,  303-356. 
Stowell,  W. — Old  French   Titles  of  Respect  in  Direct  Ad- 
dress, Baltimore,  1908. 
Tobler,  A. — Yermischte  Beitrage  zur  franzosischen  Gram- 
matik, Leipzig;  vols.  1  and  2,  1886;  vol.  3,  1899;  vol.  4, 

1908. 
Zauner,  A. — Romanische  Sprachwissenschaft,  Leipzig,  1905. 


PERIODICALS  CONSULTED 

WITH  INDICATION  OF  ABBREVIATIONS  EMPLOYED. 

Berliner  Beitrage — Berliner  Beitrdge  zur  germanischen  und 

romanischen   Philologie,    ed.    by    E.    Ebering;    Berlin, 

1893  ff. 
Gott.  Gel.  Anz. — Oottingische  QeleUrte  Anzeigen,  Gottingen, 

1802  ff. 
Herrigs    Archiv — Archiv    fur    das    Studium    der    neueren 

8prachen    und   Litteraturen,    Elberfeld    (later    Braun- 
schweig), 1846  ff. 
Litbl. — Literaturhlatt    fiir    germanische    und    romanische 

Philologie,  ed.  by  O.  Behagel  and  F.  Neumann;   Heil- 

bronn  (later  Leipzig),  1880  ff. 
Mod.    Lang.    Notes — Modern    Language   NoteSj    ed.    by    A. 

Elliott;  Baltimore,  1886  ff. 
Revue   de   phil.   fr. — Revue  de  philologie   frangaise   et   de 

litterature,  ed.  by  L.  Cl^dat;  Paris,  1887  ff. 
Rom. — Romania,  Paris,  1872  ff. 
Rom.    Forsch. — Romanische   Forschungen,    ed.    by   K.   Vol- 

moller;   Erlangen,  1882  ff. 
Rom.  Stud. — Romanische  Studien,  ed.  by  E.  Bohmer;  vols. 

1-3,  Strassburg,  1871-1878;  vols.  4-6,  Bonn,  1880-1895. 
Zts.  f.  r.  Ph. — Zeitschrift  fiir  romanische  Philologie,  ed.  by 

G.  Grober;  Halle,  1877  ff. 
Zts.  f.  vergl.  Sprachforseh.  N.  F. — Zeitschrift  fiir  vergleich- 

ende  Sprachforschung  auf  dem  Oebiete  der  indogerma- 

nischen  Sprachen,  Neue  Folge,  Berlin  (later  Gutersloh), 

1852  ff. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Coalescence/ 

The  Modem  French  Je  mis  hien  aise  developed  from 
Je  sids  hien  a  aise;  so  the  Old  French  II  li  done  was 
originally  II  le  li  done.  If  intentional,  such  omissions 
would  be  surprising  and  their  explanation  perplexing. 
But  their  origin  lies  in  a  phonetic  reduction  which  is 
contrary  to  logic  and  grammar,  and  which  results  from 
the  fusion  of  similar  sounds:  thus  the  preposition  a 
coalesced  with  the  initial  vowel  sound  of  aise.  This 
phase  of  the  study  of  ellipsis  is  probably  the  most  in- 
teresting, and  may  at  first  seem  the  most  surprising,  but 
is  in  reality  quite  natural,  for  it  is  the  least  violent  kind 
of  ellipsis  inasmuch  as  the  speaker  is  unaware  of  the 
gradual  disappearance  of  the  coalescing  word.  Other 
occurrences  of  coalescence  are  given  below  in  alphabetical 
order. 

Preposition  a*. 

Both  a  aise  and  aise  occur  in  the  twelfth  century : 

Or  estoie  je  trop  a  eise,  Erec  2590;  Ainz  va  plus  else 
et  plus  soef  Que  s^il  estoit  an  une  nef,  ib.  1401. 

^  See  Kr.  Nyrop,  Oram.,  vol.  1,  pp.  279-280. 

^G.  Paris  (Rom.  29  (1900),  pp.  262,  3)  shows  that  ente 
is  contracted  from  a  ente,  and  that  gait  apens  developed 
from  agait  a  apens,  and  agait  in  turn  from  a  agait. 

The  reduction  of  dehe  +  ait  to  dehait  (G.  P.,  Rom.  18 
(1889),  p.  469;  E.  Sheldon,  ib.  32  (1903),  p.  444)  is  likewise 
due  to  the  fusion  of  vowel  sounds;  thus:  Dehait  ore  qui  por 
vos  i  cantera,  Auc.  22,  9.  When  the  force  of  the  verb  was  no 
longer  felt,  it  was  often  repeated  as  a  separate  word,  as: 
Dehait  ait  qui  ja  en  parlera,  ib.  18,  25. 


24  Ellipsis  in  Old  Feench. 

The  verb  comander '  requires  the  preposition  a  before 
the  dependent  infinitive/  The  omission  of  this  preposi- 
tion, however,  evidently  due  to  absorption,  is  not  infre- 
quent when  the  following  word  begins  with  a  or  the  pre- 
ceding word  terminates  in  this  sound : 

Sa  pucele  comande  aler  Isnelemant  a  lui  parler,  Erec 
153;  Ses  chevans  comande  anseler,  ib.  1432  and  4283; 
Comanda  gant  vaslez  beignier/  ib.  2016;  Sa  fame 
comande  atorner,  ib.  2294;  Et  comanda  les  corz  soner, 
ib.  2335;  Si  ot  comande  a  porter*  Tantes  et  pavellons 
et  trez,  ib.  3948;  Et  comanda  une  esche  esprandre,  ib. 
5128;  Li  rois  comanda  aprester  Le  soper,  ib.  5580;  Si 
comanda  metre  sa  sele,  Ch.  L.  727. 

The  fusion  of  the  preposition  a  with  the  initial  vowel 
of  Auste  apparently  occurs  in  the  following  passage  from 
Enfances  Ogier:'' 

Tot  droit  Aiiste  est  Kalles  herbergies. 

It  is  uncertain  that  the  following  is  an  example  of  the 
coalescence  of  the  preposition;  this  is  pointed  out  by 
Tobler:'' 

'  The  cases  in  which  this  verb  governs  the  infinitive  with- 
out a  preposition,  and  in  which  no  fusion  could  have  oc- 
curred, are  few,  and  in  none  of  those  found  does  the  infini- 
tive immediately  follow  the  principal  verb.    Examples: 

Les  trois  chevaus  li  comandoit  Devant  li  mener  et  chacier, 
Erec  2916;  Comanderent  les  couches  feire,  ib.  4270;  Mainte- 
nant  comande  fors  treire  Deus  corones  de  son  tresor,  ib. 
6836. 

*  Examples  will  be  found  in  St.  Leg.  220;  Rol.  1138;  Erec 
2618,  2625,  3656;  Clig.  4602;  Ch.  L.  143,  202,  1988,  2139,  3968, 
3971. 

°  See  Le  Coultre,  p.  54. 

•Better  aporter.  Cf.  Et  fet  aporter  un  antret,  ib.  4219; 
Et  fet  ses  armes  aporter^  ib.  4284. 

^  In  Les  Chansons  de  Oeste  et  les  Routes  d'ltalie,  J.  B6dier, 
Rom.,  36  (1907),  p.  165,  1.  4. 

»V.  B.  1,  182  (article  32)  note:  "  Es  ist  nicht  ganz  sicher, 
dass  die  Stelle  hieher  gehort,  da  avoir  apris  in  der  Bedeu- 
tung  *  gewohnt  sein '  .  .  .  ausser  mit  a  und  dem  Infinitiv 
(Ge  congnois  Hen  pieg'a  Dangler;  II j  a  apris  a  ledangier, 


Coalescence.  25 

Tant  con  li  hon  a  plus  apris  A  *  delit  et  a  joie  vivre, 
Ch.  L.  3578. 

Perhaps  the  omission  of  the  preposition  a  in  avoir 
710171  (see  p.  122)  is  due  to  coalescence,  for,  in  this  ex- 
pression, the  verb  was  probably  used  most  frequently  in 
the  third  person  singular  of  the  present  indicative. 

Compare  the  Portuguese  a  for  a  a,  and  the  fusion  in 
Eoumanian  of  the  article  a  with  a  final  a  of  the  preced- 
ing word  to  which  it  relates,  as,  piatra  (see  Zauner,  1, 
147).  The  Old  Spanish  ela  reduces  to  el  before  a  tonic 
a  of  the  following  noun :  thus,  el  alma. 

Be, 

Probably  in  an  imperfect  pronunciation  of  de — as  is 
likely  to  occur,  e.  g.,  in  the  Modern  French  comhien  de 
dictionnaires,  etc. — is  to  be  seen  the  cause  of  the  ellipsis 
of  this  word  in  the  following  passages : 

Ambes  levres  li  fait  talier,  Anc  la  langue  que  aut  en 
quieu.  Com  si  I'aut  tot  vituperet,  Dist  Evruins,  qui  tant 
fu  mels:  "  Hor  at  perdut  don  (sc.  de)  Dieu  parler; 
Ja  nen  podrat  mais  Dieu  loder,"  St.  Leg.  157;  so  also 
ib.  167;  Desire  part  la  citet  demie  Hue  grant  Troevent 
vergiers,  Pel.  de  Ch.  264;  S^estut  sor  les  deus  piez  de- 
riere,  Ch.  L.  3398;  De  treis  choses  fu  (t.  e.  la  passiun), 
Isi  le  ai  jo  lu,  E  apris  de  mestre.  Di  pire  matire  (Pur 
veirs  le  pus  dire)  ISTe  purreit  ele  estre,  Omnip.  32a ;  Les 
mains  devant,  Aiol  368  °;  Les  deus  poes  devant,  Doon  de 
Maience,  p.  47 " ;  Des  pies  devant,  Huon  de  Bordeaux, 
p.  55  ';  Le  trait  deriere.  Ph.  de  Thaiin,  BesUaires,  35'; 
La  garde  riere,  Ambroise,  La  guerre  saint e,  1913.* 

A  leidir  et  a  menacier,  Rose  3140)  auch  mit  reinem  Infinitiv 
vorkommt  (cil  ki  ait  apris  Estre  envoixies  et  chantans  et 
jolis,  Bern.  LHs.  467,  2)." 

*  When  ellipses)  might  not  be  immediately  recognized, 
italics  have  been  used  to  indicate  their  occurrence. 

•  From  Nyrop,  Oram.,  vol.  3,  p.  328. 


26  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

Compare  the  omission  of  -do  of  modo  in  the  Italian 
a  mo'  d^introduzione,  a  mo'  delle  nazioni  orientali. 

EL 
In  CUges  5903 — Se  je  vive  ne  la  te  rant,  Ou  tu  m'oci  ou 
tu  me  pant! — there  is  probably  no  assimilation  of  the  con- 
junction e(t)  with  the  final  vowel  of  vive,  which  must  be 
viv  e — for  vif  e,  as  f  would  be  in  intervocalic  position — 
since,  in  the  present  tense,  se  does  not  require  the  sub- 
junctive. 

Similar  to  this  are  the  following  passages  from  Oregoire: 
Lors  aparceit  al  chief  les  tables  Beles  d'ivoire  (=ivoir*  e) 
convenables,  37-13;   Esp§e  ot  bone   (=  bon'  e)   bien  tren- 
chant, 59-1. 

liY). 

The  rarity  of  the  appearance  of  the  adverb  i  before 
the  future  and  conditional  of  aler  is  due  to  its  coales- 
cence with  the  initial  vowel  of  this  verb.^*  That  the  ad- 
verb was  used  in  this  position  is  attested  by  examples  of 
its  survival : 

Vos  n^i  iroiz,  Erec  215;  Wi  irai  pas,  ib.  3907;  Mes  je 
n^i  iroie  por  rien,  ib.  4012;  Et  bien  vos  poist,  si  i  iroiz, 
ib.  4020;  Bien  otroie  qu'il  i  ira,  Clig.  4977;  Amis,  ains 
i  ira  Jehanz,  ib.  6284;  Lez  a  lez  n'i  iroient  pas,  Lance- 
lot'' 2179;  Et  dit:  "  Aussins  i  irai  gie,''  ib.  2193;  "  Et 
je,"  fet  il,  "  i  irai  donques,"  ib.  2291 ;  Mes  j^i  irai  se  vos 
volez,  ib.  2387. 

But  one  example  has  been  found  of  the  change  to 
which  i  and  the  following  t  of  a  verb  other  than  aler 
were  subject: 

Que  chascun  jor  alot  veeir  Celes  (read  C'eles,  i.  e. 
8'eles)  ierent  (not  i  event)  e  saveeir  S^aucuns  ne  fust 
qui  les  remuast,  Greg.  70-13. 

^^  W.  Corte,  Pt.  Ill,  p.  36,  says:    "  Y  "  wird  des  Wohlklangs 
wegen  bei  j'irai  und  j'irais  unterdruckt. 
"W.  Foerster,  Halle,  1899. 


Coalescence.  27 

The  juxtaposition  of  these  two  vowel  sounds  produced 
a  similar  result  when  this  adverb  followed  qui  and  ^; 

Passet  Gironde  a  molt  granz  nes  qu'i  sont,  Eol.  3688 ; 
De  eels  de  France  les  plus  saives  qu^i  sont,  ib.  3703;  An 
tot  le  chastel  n'a  remes  Home  ne  fame,  droit  ne  tort,  .  .  . 
Qui  (=:  qui  i)  puisse  aler,  qui  n'i  voise,  Erec  5698;  Et 
la  dameisele  i  estoit,  Qui  sa  seror  deseritoit;  Qu^ele  avoit 
puis  mout  pres  tenue  La  cort,  s'atandoit  la  venue  Sa 
seror,  qui  (=:  qui  i)  vient  et  aproche,  ib.  5845; — La 
reine  Ganievre  i  cort  Et  s^i  vint  meismes  li  rois,  Erec 
1524;  Et  li  Francois  i  fierent  et  si  chaplent,  Eol.  1347, 
in  which  the  adverb  would  hardly  refer  to  both  verbs 
because  of  et  si. 

Editors  print  qu'i  and  s'i,  as  Cledat  and  Foerster  have 
done  in  the  above  citations,  when  the  need  of  the  pres- 
ence of  the  adverb  has  been  noticed.  Though  this  orthog- 
raphy shows  the  presence  of  both  words,  which  was  no 
doubt  felt,  at  least  in  early  times,  it  is  as  incorrect  as  it 
is  advantageous.  Would  it  not  be  quite  as  reasonable, 
and  more  consistent,  to  write  je  ni'rai  pas  for  je  n'irai 
pas,  since  i  is  not  omitted  with  any  other  tense  of  alerf 
They  are  cases  of  coalescence  and  not  of  elision. 

Le,  la,  les  before  li,  lor. 
The  ellipsis  of  the  accusative  pronoun  of  the  third 
person  before  the  dative  pronoun  of  the  same  person  "* — 
Et  je  (sc.  le)  lor  irai  avant  dire,  Erec  4166 — is  of  such 
frequent  occurrence  that  its  use  in  this  position  has  been 
said  seldom  to  occur.  Ebeling ''  takes  exception  to  these 
statements,  supporting  his  argument  with  many  exam- 
ples. Yet  the  fact  remains  that  the  ellipsis  occurs  very 
much  more  frequently  than  the  full  form. 

"For  its  omission  before  the  dative  of  other  pronouns, 
see  p.  58. 
"  Georg  Ebeling,  AuJ)eree,  Halle,  1895,  note  to  1.  655. 


28  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

On  first  consideration  one  might  suppose  the  accusa- 
tive pronoun  to  have  been  employed  enclitically.  Losing 
its  vowel  because  of  the  following  I,  it  would  be  scarcely 
distinguishable  in  sound  from  the  dative  pronoun,  with 
the  result  that  the  accusative  pronoun  disappeared. 

However,  the  word  preceding  the  accusative  often  ter- 
minated in  an  I.  Such  close  proximity  of  three  I  sounds 
could  hardly  have  failed  to  result  in  the  disappearance 
of  the  second,  i.  e.  of  the  accusative  pronoun.  Probably 
this  is  the  true  explanation  of  the  origin  of  the  ellipsis, 
and  the  loss  of  the  enclitic  accusative  came  later,  being  a 
more  violent  ellipsis,  for  before  1%  lor,  and  following  an 
I  the  accusative  is  rarely  found.  Of  Ebeling's  twenty- 
nine  examples,  only  two  are  of  the  accusative  in  this 
position,  whereas  fourteen  show  its  use  after  a  vowel. 
That  there  are  more  examples  of  its  omission  after  a 
vowel  than  after  I  is  not  surprising,  since  more  of  the 
pronouns,  as  well  as  ne  and  si,  which  frequently  precede 
the  object  pronouns,  terminate  in  a  vowel  {je,  tu,  ele, 
cele,  qui)  than  in  I  (il,  cil).  The  occurrence  of  the 
ellipsis  after  consonants  other  than  I  was,  no  doubt,  a 
later  development. 

Ellipsis  of  le: 

(a)  after  I:  Uescut  vermeil  li  fraint,  del  col  li  portet, 
Eol.  1576;  Fiert  Pinabel  sor  Thelme  d^acier  brun, 
Josqu^al  nasel  li  at  frait  et  fendut,  ib.  3926. 

(&)  after  a  vowel:  Le  destre  poing  at  perdut,  n'en  at 
mie.  Si  li  trenchat  li  cuens  Eollanz  li  riches,  Eol.  2719 ; 
Je  li  dirai,  nel  leirai  pas,  Erec  2843. 

(c)  after  a  consonant  other  than  I:  Sil  fiert  amont 
sor  Fhelme  ad  or  gemet;  Tot  li  detrenchet  d^ici  que  al 
nasel,  Eol.  1995;  Erec  par  le  hiaume  le  sache,  A  force 
del  chief  li  arrache,  Erec  985. 


Coalescence.  29 

Ellipsis  of  la: 

(a)  after  I:  Danz  Oliviers  trait  at  sa  bone  espede  .  .  . 
Et  il  li  at  com  chevaliers  mostrede,  Rol.  1367;  "La  clef 
en  Fentraile  trovai/^    II  lur  mostra,  Greg.  104-14. 

(h)  after  a  vowel:  "Re  voudroie  por  nule  rien  Qu^ele 
eiist  d^autre  robe  point  Jusque  la  reine  li  doint,  Erec 
1376 ;  Si  li  rant  la  corone  an  pes,  Car  bien  est  droiz  que 
tu  li  les,  Clig.  2493. 

(c)  after  a  consonant  other  than  I:  Del  brant  d^acier 
la  more  li  presentet,  Desor  le  front  Phelme  li  en  detren- 
chet,  Enmi  le  vis  li  at  faite  descendre,  Rol.  3918;  "  Une 
chose  me  creantez  .  .  /'  La  dame  tantost  li  otroie,  Ch. 
L.  2552. 

Ellipsis  of  les: 

(a)  after. I:  Cil  li  aportet;  receit  les  Alexis,  St.  Alex. 
57c;  Cil  li  fist  aporter,  et  li  reis  les  regut,  Pel.  de  Ch.  191. 

(h)  after  a  vowel:  Et  fet  ses  armes  aporter.  Yaslet 
corent,  si  li  aportent,  Erec  4284;  A  grant  painne  tenoit 
ses  lermes,  Mes  honte  li  feisoit  tenir,  Ch.  L.  2702. 

(c)  after  a  consonant  other  than  I:  Garnemens  de- 
manda  ciers,  On  li  a  aparellies,  Auc.  9,  5;  S^il  viaut 
armes,  an  li  atorne,  Ch.  L.  3139. 

Though  about  140  examples  of  this  ellipsis  have  been 
found  in  the  works  examined,  there  occur  there  very  few 
instances  of  the  appearance  of  the  accusative  pronoun 
before  the  dative  pronoun  of  the  third  person : 

Recent  Falmosne  quant  Deus  la  li  tramist,  St.  Alex. 
20c;  Ainz  preiet  Deu  qued  il  le  lor  pardoinst,  ib.  54d. 

There  are  more  examples  of  its  use  when  following 
the  dative  pronoun  or  when  it  is  separated  from  it,  for 
then  the  possibility  of  coalescence  is,  of  course,  pre- 
cluded : 

Lui  Tcomandat  cil  reis  Lodiers,  St.  Leg.  20 ;  Rendit  lo 
qui  lui  l^comandat,  ib.  26 ;  Lui  la  consent  qui  de  Rome 
esteit  pape,  St.  Alex.  75c ;  Conpeignie  m^i  a  tenue,  Et  je 
la  revuel  li  tenir,  Ch.  L.  5734. 


30  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

It  is  curious  that  the  accusative  pronoun  is  omitted, 
though  rarely,  at  the  beginning  of  a  verse : 

Pour  essauchier  crestiente,  Lor  a  Diex  a  pastor  doune, 
Greg.  110-15;  Celes  ranposnes  a  sejor  Li  sont  el  cuer 
batanz  et  fresches,  Mes  de  son  gucre  et  de  ses  bresches 
Li  radoucist  novele  Amors,  Ch.  L.  1354. 

Conjunction  se. 
Though  come  may  alone  signify  "  as  if,^^  it  is  probable 
that  the  omission  of  se  before  ce  is  caused  by  its  coales- 
cence with  this  word,  particularly  as  con  se  ce  has  not 
been  found  in  the  works  studied : 

et  avoit  Jes  mameletes  dures,  qui  li  souslevoient  sa 
vesteiire,  ausi  con  ce  fuissent  deus  nois  gauges,  Auc.  12, 
23;  Que  aussi,  con  ce  fussent  pailles,  Fet  del  hauberc 
voler  les  mailles,  Ch.  L.  4525. 

It  is  ce  which  does  not  appear  in  Ch.  L.  930, 
Estoit  si  estroiz  li  trespas,  Oon  se  fust  uns  santiers 
batuz. 

Eeflexive  Pronoun  se. 

"  Comme  tons  les  verbes  pronominaux  a  I'origine,  ^  se 
lever,^  dans  les  temps  composes,  pent  etre  purement  passif 
(sans  pronom  reflechi)  :  '  Turpins  est  levez '  =  '  Turpin 
s'est  leve  \'^  This  is  the  statement  made  by  Cledat  in 
the  glossary  to  his  edition  of  the  Roland,  under  lever. 

What  is  the  origin  of  this  use?  Can  it  be  simply  a 
substitution  of  the  present  tense  for  the  past  indefinite — 
the  substitution  of  a  tense  denoting  completed  action  for 
one  describing  the  accomplishment  of  such  action  ?  The 
substitution  would  be  unaccountable. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  the  ellipsis  of  the  reflexive 
pronoun — for  such  it  seems  to  be — originated  in  a  pho- 
netic development,  se  sont  giving  sont  through  an  imper- 
fect articulation  of  the  vowel,  due  to  the  same  sibilant's 


Coalescence.  31 

preceding  and  following  it/*  particularly  as  the  pronoun 
may  have  been  used  enclitically  with  the  preceding  word 
when  it  terminated  in  a  vowel,  and  the  omission  extend- 
ing to  the  reflexive  pronouns  of  the  other  persons,  aided 
by  the  fact  that  those  of  the  first  and  second  persons 
plural  may  easily  have  been  mistaken  for  subjects  when 
the  latter  were  omitted." 

Though  very  often  this  omission  may  be  seen,  it  is 
difficult  to  cite  indisputable  examples,  since  Old  French 
is  so  inconsistent  in  the  use  of  the  tenses ;  the  following, 
however,  seem  reasonably  sure  cases  of  the  ellipsis  " : 

Ad  icest  mot  sont  Franceis  escridet,  Eol.  1180;  Puis 
sont  tornet  Baivier  et  Aleman,  ib.  3960 ;  Quant  ce  fu  fet 
et  atorne,  Li  message  sont  retome  A  lor  seignor  Erec 
arriere.  Qui  les  re^ut  a  bele  chiere,  Erec  1907;  Quant  li 
uns  ot  Tautre  bande,  A  Deu  sont  antrecomande,  ib.  3929 ; 
Quant  tote  la  messe  oie  orent.  Si  sont  el  pales  retorne.  Ja 
fu  tot  fet  et  atorne,  ib.  6918;  Et  vers  Cliges  vos  mes- 
feistes,  Wil  n^est  de  rien  vers  vos  mesfez,  Clig.  6580;  Et 
que  que  il  se  desarmoient,  Le  lion  corant  venir  voient 
.  .  .  Desarme  sont  einsi  parlant,  Et  li  lions  ne  vint  pas 
lant,  Ch.  L.  6455-6493. 

The  Modern  French  use  of  etre  in  conjugating  many 
verbs  denoting  change  of  position  may  be  somewhat  in- 
debted to  this  use  of  the  auxiliary  verb  estre. 

"Cf.  savous  i=  savez-vous)  and  avous  (=  avez-vous) ; 
see  Nyrop,  Oram.,  vol,  2,  p.  168.  In  English,  with  some 
careless  speakers,  the  words  say  I  become,  through  analogy 
with  the  third  person  singular,  says  I,  pronounced  sez  J, 
which  sometimes  contracts  to  s'z  I,  s's  I  and  even  s'J. 

"  This  ellipsis  would  originate,  of  course,  after  the  use  of 
the  verb  estre  with  reflexive  verbs  had  become  customary, 
and  a  possible  theory  that  sont  =  s'ont,  is  unsupportable, 
inasmuch  as  the  use  of  the  verb  avoir  in  such  cases  is  not 
often  found  with  the  other  persons  in  the  works  studied. 

^^Zauner,  2,  136,  in  making  mention  of  this  construction, 
confuses  it  with  the  omission  of  the  reflexive  pronoun,  ob- 
ject of  a  dependent  infinitive  (see  p.  63  ff.). 


32  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

Only  three  cases  have  been  found  in  which  pener,  in 
the  sense  of  "to  exert  one's  self/'  "to  work/'  is  not 
clearly  reflexive.  In  one  of  them  it  is  not  certain  that 
s'  is  not  the  reflexive  pronoun : 

Dessoz  la  vile  an  un  destor  Avoit  Jehanz  f  eite  une  tor, 
S'i  ot  par  mout  grant  san  pene,  Clig.  5555. 

In  the  following  passage  it  may  be  a  case  of  coalescence 
of  the  reflexive  s'  with  the  preceding  nominative  s  of 
mires.  While  the  omission  of  the  reflexive  pronoun  with 
the  negative  verb  later  in  the  poem  makes  such  a  conclu- 
sion doubtful,  the  possibility  of  a  form  mires  i  may  have 
caused  a  mires  n'i: 

Cos  d'espee  garist  et  sainne  Mout  tost,  des  que  mires 
i  painne,  Ch.  L.  1371.  Compare :  Se  desleaus  mires  n'i 
painne,  ib.  5384. 


CHAPTEE  II. 

Non-repetition  of  Closely  Eecurring  Words  and 
Syllables/ 
Through  a  tendency  to  avoid  a  repetition  of  the  same 
sound,  there  originated  important  and,  in  some  cases, 
violent  ellipses,  distinct  from  simple  non-repetition — 
which  relieves  heaviness  and  awkwardness  of  expres- 
sion— inasmuch  as  they  render  the  sentence  grammatic- 
ally incomplete,  and  are  often  unconscious  omissions. 
Words  and  groups  of  words,  as  well  as  the  suffix  -ment 
and  certain  prefixes  were  thus  affected. 

1.  Complete  Words. 
De. 

Mes  por  quoi  fust  ele  coarde  De  sa  dame  reconforter 
Et  de  s'enor  amonester,*  Ch.  L.  1594. 

The  omission  of  de  before  plus  in  the  following  pas- 
sage may  be  attributed  to  its  use  before  foi: 

Car  il  ne  cuidoient  ancores,  Qu'il  eiist  baron  plus  de 
foi,  Clig.  432. 

*Cf.  the  Modern  French  plus  tdt  que  plus  tard,  which, 
according  to  Littr^  (under  tdt),  is  for  plutdt  plus  tdt  que 
plus  tard  (see  also  Tobler,  V.  B.  3,  144-145),  and  the  Eng- 
lish "  inside  and  out,"  and  "  outside  and  in/*  In  English, 
also,  we  occasionally  hear,  among  careless  speakers,  such 
errors  as,  "  You'll  oblige  me  by  stop  talking,''  in  which 
the  second  termination  -ing,  immediately  following,  is  prob- 
ably the  cause  of  the  suppression  of  the  first.  So,  too,  the 
verb  "  to  go  "  is  not  repeated  in  such  sentences  as,  "  I  am 
going  out,"  for  "  I  am  going  to  go  out." 

^See  Tobler,  V.  B.  1,  181  (article  32),  and  note.  In  the 
Gott.  Gel.  Anz.,  1877,  p.  1614,  two  examples  are  given: 
DHluec  partir  congiet  rouvai,  Watr.  12,332;  Des  mauvais 
parler  se  teisoit,  ib.  45,  50.  Likewise,  the  partitive  article 
never  occurs  after  de. 


34  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

Compare  the  Modern  French  ret  our  de  Paris  for  de 
retour  de  Paris. 

En, 

In  the  following  passage  the  occnrrence  of  the  preposi- 
tion en  may  properly  be  considered  the  cause  of  the  omis- 
sion of  the  pronoun  before  at: ' 

Sonez  voz  graisles  tant  que  en  ceste  ost  at,  Eol  2110. 

Merd, 

That  the  Modern  French  merci — ^^  thank  you^^ — is 
a  shortened  form  of  vostre  merci,  which  is  in  turn  the 
result  of  the  ellipsis  of  the  verb  merci — first  person 
singular  of  the  present  indicative  of  mercier — ^the  full 
form  thus  being  merci  vostre  merci — "  I  thank  your 
grace,  i.  e.,  you ''' — is  found  to  be  at  least  probable  by  an 

'  If  one  would  consider  that  tant  que  ,  .  .  at  refers  to  the 
men  rather  than  to  the  clarions,  en  would  still  be  expected, 
for  its  use  in  the  sense  of  de  vos  is  not  unfamiliar  to  Old 
French : 

Quant  jo  n'ai  prot  de  vos  (1.  e.  s'esp^de)  nen  ai  meins 
cure!  Tantes  batailles  en  champ  en  ai  vencudes.  .  .  .  Ne 
vos  ait  hom  qui  por  altre  s'en  fuiet!  Rol.  2305;  Ma  dame  a 
seignor  vos  regut,  Mon  los  et  mon  consoil  an  crut,  Ch.  L. 
3653;  Ne  ne  trovai  qui  me  deist  de  vos  chose,  qui  me  seist; 
Car  il  n'an  savoient  noveles,  ib.  3695;  Et  sachiez  bien,  que 
vos  meimes  I  poez  mout  grant  honte  atandre,  Se  reangon 
n'an  viaut  an  prandre!  ib.  5266. 

En  also  refers  to  the  other  persons:  To  the  first  person 
singular : 

Mes  garde  bien,  je  te  comant,  S'est  nus,  qui  de  moi  te 
demant.  Que  ja  novele  ne  Tan  dies,  Ch.  L.  739 ;  "  Certes,  vos 
estes  mal  baillie,  S'autremant  de  vos  ne  pansez."  "  Tu,"  fet 
la  dame,  "  qui  tant  sez,  Me  di,  comant  j'an  panserai,  Et  ja  a 
ton  los  an  ferai,"  ib.  6574. 

Referring  to  the  second  person  singular: 

Ainz  que  t'ousse  si'n  fui  molt  desirrose;  Ainz  que  nez 
fusses  si'n  fui  molt  angoissose;  Quant  jo  t'vid  net  si'n  ful 


Non-repetition  of  Eecurring  Words.         35 

examination  of  the  use  of  the  Old  French  vostre  merci. 
The  cause  of  the  omission  of  the  verb  is  precisely  similar 
to  that  of  the  omission  of  de  in  the  Modem  French 
retour  de  Paris — ^the  close  recurrence  of  the  same  word. 
When  vostre  merci  was  no  longer  generally  used  in  the 
sense  of  voils,  the  early  force  of  vostre  ceased  to  be  felt 
in  this  expression,  and  the  word  was  finally  dropped. 

If  this  theory  be  correct,  vostre  merci  has  here  the 
meaning  of  the  Spanish  Vuestra  Merced  and  the  Portu- 
guese Vossa  Merce,  not  an  unlikely  meaning,  considering 
its  use  in  these  other  Romance  languages,  but  one  which 
has  not  been  generally  noted  or  conceded.  In  the  fol- 
lowing examples  it  seems  clearly  to  have  such  significa- 
tion: 

Ne  vos  i  covient  plus  atandre :  Vostre  merci,  ralez  vos 
an!  Erec  4110;  Ne  vos  poist  pas,  Ja  avuec  moi  n'iroiz 
un  pas.  Les  voz  granz  merciz,  remenez !  ib.  4299 ; 
Hastez  vos,  la  vostre  merci !  ib.  4371 ;  Bel  a  parle  vostre 

liede  e  goiose;  Or  te  vei  mort,  tote  en  sui  corocose,  St.  Alex. 
92a. 

Referring  to  the  third  person  singular — most  often  found 
and  fairly  common;  a  few  examples  are: 

Sainz  Alexis  out  bone  volentet:  ...  Li  cors  en  gist  en 
Rome  la  citet,  Et  I'anme  en  est  enz  el  paradis  Deu,  St.  Alex. 
109a;  Que  la  tenisse  en  France  o  a  Dun  la  citet!  Car  jo'n 
fereie  puis  totes  mes  volontez,  P61.  de  Ch.  406;  Ensorquetot 
si  ai  jo  vostre  soer,  Sin  ai  un  fil,  Rol.  294;  Or  guart  chascuns 
que  granz  cols  i  empleit,  Male  changon  ja  chant^de  n'en 
seit,  ib.  1013;  For  ce  que  D6s  a  comand6  Que  il  seit  k  Rome 
amen6  E  que  en  facent  Apostoile,  Gr6g.  103-15;  Erec  la  voit, 
mout  s'an  mervoille,  Erec  4336. 

Referring  to  the  first  person  plural: 

L'un  an  covandra  ja  verser,  Ou  moi  ou  lui,  ne  sai  le  quel, 
Ch.  L.  4148. 

Referring  to  the  third  person  plural: 

par  quoi  il  ne  s'aperceusgent,  et  qu'ele  s'en  gardast,  Auc 
14,  31;  Garde  toi  des  souduians  .  .  .  (16,  3)  je  m'en  garde- 
rai  bien,  et  dix  m'en  gart!  ib.  15,  13. 


36  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

merci,  Floire  et  Blanchefleur,  1899  (du  Meril)*;  Ce  me 
plest  mout  et  atalante^  Yostre  merci,  que  dit  m'avez,  Clig. 
2318 ;  ^^  Dame/^  fet  il,  ''  vostre  merci,  Quant  vostre  sire 
m^assailli,  Quel  tort  oi  je  de  moi  deffandre?^^  Ch.  L. 
1999.' 

N'ot  only  are  the  following  citations  meaningless  if 
vostre  merci  has  not  this  value,  but  the  sense  requires  the 
verb  merci.  This  verb — ^like  its  Modem  French  descend- 
ant remercier — requires  de  before  the  noun  expressing 
that  for  which  thanks  are  rendered;  unless,  then,  merd 
is  understood  in  the  last  of  these  examples,  the  preposi- 
tion is  unaccountable: 

"Jo  vos  donrai  un  pan  de  mon  pais  Des  Cheriant 
entresqu^en  Val  Marchis/^  Et  cil  respont :  "  Sire,  vostre 
mercit!''  Eol.  3207;  "Biaus  sire/'  fet  il,  "Men  veigniez! 
Se  0  moi  herbergier  deigniez,  Vez  Fostel  aparellie  ci." 
Erec  respont:  "Vostre  merci!''  Erec  387;  "Tot  vos 
presterai  sanz  dotance;  Que  ja  riens  n'an  sera  a  dire." 
"  La  vostre  merci,  biaus  douz  sire ! "  ib.  622 ;  "  La  vos 
vuel  avuec  moi  mener,  S'i  ferons  noz  plaies  sener."  Erec 
respont :  "  Bon  gre  vos  sai  De  ce  qu'o'i  dire  vos  ai.  W\ 
irai  pas,  vostre  merci,"  ib.  3903 ;  "  Yos  et  trestoz  voz  oirs 
f ranchis  .  .  ."  Jehanz  respont :  "  Yostre  merci !  "  Clig. 
5644;  "  Je  sui  vostre,  et  vos  soiiez  D'ore  an  avant  ma 

*  Quoted  by  Godefroy  in  his  Dictionnaire,  under  merci.  It 
is  found  at  1.  2156  of  Bekker's  edition  in  Philologische  und 
Mstorische  Abhandlungen  der  Koniglichen  Akademie  der 
Wissenschaften  zu  Berlin,  1844,  pp.  1-41. 

''The  meaning  of  **by  your  grace'*  can  hardly  apply  to 
the  above  examples,  though  in  some  cases  the  context  ren- 
ders such  a  reading  possible,  as  in  the  following  passages, 
yet  even  here  the  fact  that  vostre  merci,  soe  merci,  etc.,  may 
not  have  this  meaning  is  not  at  all  precluded : 

Quier  mei  .  .  .  parchamin  ...  go  pri  toe  mercit,  St. 
Alex.  57a;  Et  je  li  pri,  qu'ele  s'an  teise.  Que  ja  chose,  qui  me 
despleise,  Ne  me  comant,  soe  merci,  Ch.  L.  121;  Grant  enor 
me  porterent  tuit,  Les  lor  merciz,  an  la  meison,  ib.  570;  Mes 
vos,  la  vostre  grant  merci,  M'i  enorastes  et  servistes,  ib. 
1012. 


NON-EBPETITION   OF   EeCUREING  WoEDS.  37 

dameisele ! ''     "  Vostre  merci,   sire !  "  f  et  ele,   Ch.   L. 

2438;  Vostre  merci  de  la  promesse,  Que  volan tiers  la 
feriiez,  ib.  3740. 

So  in  Old  Provengal : 

Domna,  dis  el,  vostra  merce,  Car  .  .  .  Appel,  p.  22, 
1.  589 ;  translated  in  the  glossary  as  "  dank  Euch." 

Mes. 

With  toz  jorz,  accompanied  by  a  future  or  conditional 
verb,  mes  is  regularly  required.  A  striking  example  of 
anh  Koivoif  (scc  p.  41)  may  therefore  be  furnished  by  the 
following  quotation,  in  which  mes  probably  has  a  double 
meaning,  referring  both  to  toz  jorz  (Latin  magis)  and 
to  amis  (Latin  meus)  : 

Si  me  plevi  et  fianga  Que  toz  jorz  mes  amis  seroit,  Erec 
6280. 

Ne, 

Following  the  conjunction  ne,  the  negative  adverb  ne 
is  often  omitted.  As  it  is  only  in  this  position  that  the 
non-repetition  of  the  negative  particle  frequently  occurs 
— except  when  omitted  together  with  some  other  word  * — 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  omission  is  due  to  the 
juxtaposition  of  the  two  words : 

Mes  cil  ne  tar  dent  ne  atandent,  Erec  774;  Mes  ele 
n'apargut  ne  sot  La  dolor  don  il  se  pleignoit,  ib.  4598; 
et  si  ne  sai  Queus  maus  ce  est,  qui  me  justise,  Ne  sai  don 
la  dolors  m'est  prise,  Clig.  662 ;  II  nel  salue  ne  Fancline, 
ib.  2480;  Aussi  con  la  busche,  qui  fume,  Tant  que  la 
flame  s^i  est  mise.  Que  nus  ne  sofle  ne  atise,  Ch.  L.  1778 ; 
Qu^onques  traison  vers  sa  dame  Ne  fist  ne  dist  ne  ne 
pansa,  ib.  4438. 

"  See  non-repetition  of  the  adverb,  p.  118. 


38  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

In  the  following,  ne,  rhyming  with  veriU,  is  appar- 
ently used  in  place  of  the  feminine  past  participle  nee 
and  the  negative  ne;  its  position,  which  would  be  nn- 
usual  for  the  latter,  is  thus  explained : 

Sachez  pur  verite,  Unkes  femme  de  mere  ne  Tant 
snffri  en  nn  jur,  Omnip.  116d. 

Que, 

Than  that  is  expressed  in  Old  French  by  que,  as  in 
Rol.  2336,  Mielz  voeil  morir,  qu'entre  paiiens  remaignet^ 
of  which,  logically,  the  complete  form  would  be  que  {ne 
voeil)  qu'entre  paiiens  remaignet — "  I  wish  more  to  die 
than  (I  wish)  that  I  should  remain  among  pagans/^  The 
Modem  French  construction  which  expresses  both  words, 
but  which  is  avoided  because  of  its  displeasing  sound,* 
helps  to  account  for  the  fact  that  the  use  of  the  conjunc- 
tion que  in  such  sentences  of  comparison  did  not  develop 
in  the  early  language,  aided  by  the  usage  which  permitted 
of  its  omission  in  nearly  every  case.* 

Other  examples  are: 

Mes  n^an  set  plus  que  bel  le  voit,  Clig.  2813 ;  Angois 
sofferoie  jo  que  je  feiisse  tous  deserites  et  que  je  perdisse 
quanques  g'ai,  que  tu  ja  Feiisses  a  mollier  ni  a  espouse, 
Auc.  8,  26 ;  Encor  ainme  je  mix  que  je  muire  ci,  que  tos 
li  puples  me  regardast  domain  a  merveilles,  ib.  16,  14; 
Encor  aim  jou  mix  asses  Que  me  mengucent  li  le,  Li  lion 
et  li  sengler.  Que  je  voisse  en  la  cite,  ib.  17, 16. 

^  See  Tobler,  V.  B.  1,  184  (article  32). 

"Littr^  (Dictionnaire)  under  aimer,  Rem.  4,  says: 
"  Aimer  mieux,  pr6sente  quelquefois  une  construction  diffi- 
cile. Par  exemple:  J'aime  mieux  que  vous  alliez  k  Paris 
que  que  vous  perdiez  votre  temps  chez  vous.  Ces  deux  que 
sont  lourds.  Pour  les  ^viter,  on  en  a  parfois  supprim6  un: 
J'aimerais  mieux  souffrir  la  peine  la  plus  dure  Qu'il  etit  recu 
pour  moi  la  moindre  ^gratignure,  Mol.  Tart.  Ill,  6. 

®  See  omission  of  the  conjunction  que,  p.  138  fE. 


Non-repetition  of  Eecureing  Words.         39 

2.  Suffix  -ment. 

When  adverbs  formed  by  the  addition  of  -merit  were 
used  consecutively,  this  termination  was  regularly  re- 
quired with  each  of  the  adverbs  thus  formed.  There  are, 
however,  a  few  instances  of  its  use  with  but  one  of  these 
adverbs — a  usage  which  is  still  found  in  some  of  the  Ko- 
mance  languages.  Only  one  example  has  been  found  in 
the  works  studied :  ^^^ 

Vers  Sarrazins  reguardet  fierement,  Et  vers  Frauceis 
et  humble  et  dolcement,  Eol.  1162. 

3.  Prefixes. 

It  is  probable  that  the  non-repetition  of  prefixes  had 
a  broader  application  in  Old  French  than  is  shown  by 
the  few  cases  found  in  the  works  on  which  this  study  is 
based. 

Des'. 

As  osteus  vienent,  si  s^aeisent,  Si  se  deshuesent  et 
atornent,  Erec  6454. 

S'entre-'' 
Entre,  usually  together  with  the  reflexive  pronoun,  is 
frequently  not  repeated : 

Vont  sei  entrebeisier,  noveles  demander,  Pel.  de  Ch. 
147;   Si  s^antrabatent  et   adantent,   Li  un  les   autres 

^°See  Tobler,  V.  B.  1,  101  (article  14),  edition  of  1902. 

Foerster,  Zts.  f.  r.  Ph.  2,  88,  and  Aiol,  note  to  1.  3011, 
shows  that  mainte  (mmntre)  comunalment  is  an  example 
of  this  form  of  ellipsis. 

Compare  the  use  of  -ieme  found  in  Modern  French,  as: 
La  quatre  ou  la  cinquieme  page  (Nyrop,  Gram.  vol.  2,  p. 
349). 

^  S\  not  soi,  though  preceding  an  infinitive.  It  is  gen- 
erally believed  that  the  stressed  form  of  the  object  pronoun 
is  uniformly  used  in  this  position.     Tobler   (V.  B.  2,  49) 


40  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

acravantent,  Clig.  1751;  Si  s^antrecontrent  et  regoivent, 
ib.  3583;  Qu^il  ne  s^antracolent  et  beisent,  ib.  5129 ;  Tant 
galoperent  et  conirent,  Qu^il  s'antrevirent  et  conurent, 
Erec  2347;  Si  s^antrebeisent  et  saluent,  ib.  2351;  La 
s^antrevienent  et  desfient,  ib.  3773 ;  Si  s^antrebeisent  et 
acolent^  ib.  6357 ;  Si  s'antresaluent  et  beisent,  ib.  6453 ; 
Si  s^antrafolent  et  ocient,  Ch.  L.  3269;  Antrebeisier  et 
acoler  S^alassent  ainz  que  afoler;  Qu^il  s^antrafolent  et 
mehaingnent,  ib.  6115. 

Ee-, 

It  is  uncertain  whether  the  omission  of  the  prefix  be- 
fore veoir  in  the  following  quotation  is  due  to  its  occur- 

says,  "...  dass  tonlose  Pronomina  erst  in  sehr  spater  Zeit 
sich  proklitisch  mit  Infinitiven  verbinden  " ;  Poerster  (glos- 
sary to  Ch.  L.  under  se),  speaking  of  soi,  says  that  it 
stands  "  stets  bei  refl.  Infinitiv,"  and  (note  to  L  3119) 
"  beim  Inf.  immer  soi  ";  Ebeling  (note  to  1.  202  of  Auheree) 
gives  soi  emplumer  as  the  infinitive  of  this  reflexive  verb, 
and  the  same  form  of  this  pronoun  is  used  before  the  in- 
finitive throughout  the  notes,  etc.,  etc.  But,  in  the  works 
examined,  this  stressed  pronoun  is  required  before  the  in- 
finitive only  when  a  preposition  precedes  {De  quatre  parz 
voient  venir  Lor  batailles  por  aus  secorre,  Clig.  1764;  see 
p.  67),  which  must  have  given  rise  to  this  belief.  In  Erec 
3433 — Qui  sa  fame  tolir  li  panse  Et  lui  ocirre  sanz  defanse — 
it  is  unquestionable  that  the  tonic  form  is  used  because  of  a 
decided  stress  on  the  pronoun. 

Instances  of  either  form  of  the  object  pronoun  before  an 
infinitive,  when  not  preceded  by  a  preposition,  are  few,  as  it 
is  usually  placed  before  the  auxiliary  verb  (Que  an  lui 
mout  fier  me  puis,  Ch.  L.  4906).  The  cases  noted  in  which 
the  unstressed  form  occurs  (1)  when  governed  by  the  in- 
finitive, (2)  when  governed  by  the  principal  verb,  follow: 

(1)  Qui  eps  les  morz  fait  se  revivre.  Pass.  35;  Por  go 
laissat  Deus  se  neiier,  Que  de  toz  nos  aiet  pitiet,  ib.  199; 
Pilaz  ses  mains  dunque  at  lavet.  Que  de  sa  mort  poisse-s 
neter,  ib.  237;  Alquanz  en  croiz  fait  les  lever,  ib.  491;  Por 
ciel  tiel  duol  rova  s  clergier,  St.  Leg.  65  (diplomatic  text. 
See  clergier,  under  ellipsis  of  the  causative  verb  faire,  Chapt. 
VI) ;  Vait  s'apoiier  soz  le  pin  a  la  tige,  Rol.  500;  Puis  m'en 
combatre  a  Charle  et  a  Franceis,  ib.  566;  Vont  s'adober 
desoz  une  sapeide,  ib.  993;  Vait  le  ferir  li  cuens,  ib.  1198; 
Vait  le  ferir  en  I'escut  amirable,  ib.  1660;  Vait  le  ferir  en 
guise  de  baron,  ib.  1902;  Feites  m'aparellier  et  querre,  Que 


Non-repetition  of  Eecureing  Words.         41 

rence  in  the  preceding  verse,  or  whether  it  is  merely  a 
faulty  manner  of  expression : 

Quant  son  ami  revenir  voit  Que  ja  mes  veoir  ne  cui- 
doit,  Erec  4557. 

4.  Groups  of  Words. 
The  non-repetition  of  words  which  are  necessarily  a 
part  of  a  following  clause  as  well  as  of  that  in  which  they 
stand,  has  been  treated  by  others  "  and  called  dno  koipov. 
The  following  are  found  in  the  works  studied : 

Sa  barbe  blanche  comancet  a  detreire,  Ad  ambes  mains 
les  chevels  de  sa  teste,  Rol.  2930  ( ?) ;  E-vos  iluec  errant 

j'aie  tot  mon  estovoir,  Erec  5268;  Nus  n'i  poeit  se  acuintier, 
Tristan  93  (Constans'  Chrestomathie,  p.  77).  (2)  B  per  es 
mund  rova-ls  aler,  Toz  baptizier  en  trinited,  Pass.  453; 
Laisset  Tentrer  en  un  monstier,  St.  L^g.  98;  Laissiez  le 
vivre,  Rol.  3811;   laissez  m'ester,  Gr6g.  106-1. 

It  also  occurs  before  the  infinitive  used  imperatively: 

Charles,  ne  t'esmaiier,  P61.  de  Ch.  647  (See  Etienne,  p. 
198). 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  stressed  pronoun  occasionally 
occurs  before  the  infinitive  (Yont  sei  entrehaisier,  P^l.  de 
Ch.  147,  253,  848  [sei  omitted  1.  147  diplomatic  text].  Fait 
sei  porter  en  sa  chambre  voUice,  Rol.  2593;  Yien  mei  servir 
dHci  qu'en  Oriente,  ib.  3594),  for  this  form  of  the  pronoun 
is  often  used  without  apparent  reason:  Que  cele  noit  lui 
neierat,  Pass.  114  (Cf.  Tierce  veiz  Piedres  lo  neiat,  ib.  194) ; 
Femnes  lui  vont  de  tres  sevant,  ib.  257  (Cf.  Sainz  Piedres 
sols  sevant  lo  vait,  i&.  167) ;  Si  piement  lui  apellat,  ib.  249; 
Qui  lui  alassent  decoler,  St.  Leg.  222;  Lai  s'aproismat  qui 
lui  ferit,  ib.  232;  NH  at  celui  nH  plort  et  sei  dement,  Rol. 
1836;  Qui  tei  at  mort,  ib.  2935;  Que  des  pechez  sei  deschar- 
jast,  Greg.  112-7 — and,  though  after  the  verb  the  stressed 
form  is  more  usual  (Met  sei  en  piez,  Rol.  2277;  Met  sei  sor 
piez,  ib.  2298;  Porpensent  sei  de  Uen  ferir,  Greg.  61-8;  Por- 
pensa  sei  que  .  .  .  ib.  63-10;  Reposa  sei  sor  le  rosel,  ib.  94- 
18;  prist  soi  a  desmenter,  Aiol  et  Mirabel  1802  [W.  Foerster, 
Heilbronn,  1876-1882]),  the  unstressed  form  is  also  found 
in  this  position:  Qo  U  preiat,  paiast  s'od  lui,  St.  Leg.  108; 
Tornat  s'als  altres,  ib.  206;  Aidiez  m'a  plaindre  le  dol  de 
mon  ami,  St.  Alex.  93b;  Trait  se  vers  lui  Greg.  61-4. 

"See  Tobler,  V.  B.  1,  115  ff.  (article  21),  and  Nyrop, 
Oram.,  vol.  1,  p.  453.    See  mes,  p.  37. 


42  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

sor  destre,  Por  le  pleisir  le  Eei  celestre,  Deus  pecheors 
d'une  abate  D'omes  i  ot  de  sainte  vie,  Greg.  34-3 ;  Plui- 
sors  miracles  i  fist  Diex,  Contrais  drecher  e  veir  orbex 
E  parler  ceus  qui  erent  mu  E  coursoir  de  par  Jesu,  ib. 
109-17  (i  fist  Diex  refers  also  to  the  verses  following  it, 
for  veir  and  parler  must  depend  on  the  causative  verb 
faire). 


CHAPTER  III. 
The  Noun. 

Frequently  occurring  nouns  such  as  horn,  feme,  etc, 
are  often  omitted : 

Jeo  nel  lerreie  pur  (hume)  terrestre,  Gorm.  222;  II  ne 
vait  giens  cume  terrestre  Prof  vait  bruiant  cume  tem- 
peste,  ib.  228;  Car  Isembarz  i  est  remes  Od  quarrante 
milliers  d^armes,  ib.  516;  Par  ceste  meie  destre,  Rol.  47; 
Vint  milie  sont  ad  escuz  et  a  lances,  ib.  913;  Querre  li 
vint  uns  de  Raains,  Uns  riches  dux  qui  fu  romains,  Greg. 
32-3;  Nel  fis  as  letrez,  Reim.  127d;  Qu^an  ne  trueve 
grant  ne  petit.  .  .  .  Clig.  4744 ;  N'i  a  chevelu  ne  chauve, 
ib.  4772;  Si  morut  come  forsenez/  ib.  6729;  une  vielle, 
Auc.  4,  22;  a  haute  prime,  ib.  18,  5;  au  point  de  none, 
ib.  20,  31;  entre  prime  et  tierce,  ib.  22,  29;  Que  del 
forsene  tant  s'aproche,  Qu^ele  .  .  .  Ch.  L.  2989;  Cest 
cheval,  que  je  main  an  destre,  Prenez,  ib.  3084;  Qu^il  n'a 
el  monde  si  estrange,  Cui  je  autretant  n'an  deisse,  ib. 
6306. 

The  omission  of  the  noun  in  other  cases  is  more  rare : 

Amor:  Por  Deu,  Greg.  15-10,  so  ib.  51-3;  por  Deu  le 
grant,  ib.  20-19,  so  ib.  23-19.^ 

Armes:  Et  s^a  fet  son  escu  vermoil  Et  tot  Fautre  her- 
nois  oster,  Et  fet  les  blanches  aporter,  Clig.  4876. 

Bataille:  Sur  sun  escu  li  duna  grande,  Gorm.  70  ( ?)  ; 
Si  se  conbatent  une  chaude,  Ch.  L.  6135. 

Cheval.  As  es  per  oner,  monter,  poindre  and  other 
verbs  are  often  coupled  with  cheval,  the  latter  is  not  in- 

^  Cf .  Come  hon  f orsenez  et  sauvage,  Ch.  L.  2828 ;  Por  Tome 
forsene  repestre,  ib.  2878.     Cf.  also,  however,  p.  149. 

''Cf.  por  Deu  amor,  Gr^g.  1-1;  por  amor  Deu  le  rei,  ib. 
39-23;  Por  amor  Deu,  ib.  46-16;  so  ib.  47-18  and  Rol.  3768. 


44  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

frequently  omitted  when  they  are  used,  and  even,  as  in 
the  following,  when  it  has  not  been  mentioned : 

Esperonant  vient  al  gravier,  Greg.  59-21 ;  N^ont  puis 
talent  de  remonter,  ib.  59-24;  A  la  rescosse  poingnent 
tnit,  ib.  63-23. 

Chose:  De  doel  morrai,  s^altre  ne  m^i  ocit/  Eol.  1867; 
"  Onqnes  mes/^  f et  il,  "  n'oi  tel  ^^  * ;  Ceste  vos  iert  mout 
ehier  vandue/  ib.  3569. 

Color:  Come  il  chanja,  come  il  pali/  Clig.  4364. 

Cop  (Son)  :  Oil  recuevre,  si  Fa  feme,  Erec  183 ;  Anmi 
le  piz  li  dona  tel  Mes  sire  Yvains,  que  la  pel  fausse/  Ch. 
L.  4200. 

Deniers,  souz  or  argent  et  or  may  be  supplied  in  Ch.  L. 
5320 :  Des  nuiz  grant  partie  veillons  Et  toz  les  jorz  por 
gaeignier. 

Feste :  A  saint  Michiel  tendrat  molt  halte  feste/  Eol. 
53 ;  Huit  jorz  apres  la  saint  Jehan/  Ch.  L.  2574. 

Main  (8a)  :  Et  li  cuens  hauce,  si  refiert,  Erec  4842. 

Pas:  Seignor  baron,  soef  alez  tenant,"  Eol.  1165; 
D'andeus  parz  a  trois  ganz  se  content,  Clig.  2882. 

Peche:  En  icel  lue  espeneit  E  deservit  .  .  .  Aveir 
.  .  .  confort,  Greg.  116-8. 

Personne  (often  not  expressed)  :  Se  ici  n'eiist  fors 
que  toi.  Que  sens  fusses  et  sanz  aie,  Erec  5034;  Car  ja 
n'amera  se  lui  non,  Clig.  2899 ;  Qu^il  n^iert  mes,  qui  por 

'  The  omission  may  be  that  of  personne;  see  note  to  ellip- 
sis of  the  adjective  altre,  p.  48. 

*  It  is  barely  possible  that  it  is  novele  that  is  here  omitted. 
'^  It  is  not  impossible  to  consider  parole  the  word  to  be 

supplied  in  this  sentence. 

•'Cf.  Li  reis  Marsilies  at  la  color  mud^de,  Rol.  441;  Unques 
ja  n'i  murent  color,  Gr6g.  108-10;  Mes  je  li  vi  color  changier, 
Clig.  4442;  Li  uns  por  I'autre  color  mue,  ib.  5126.  See 
phrase  De  color,  p.  146. 

^Cf.  Cil  li  reva  tel  cop  doner,  Que  .  .  .  Clig.  1921;  Et  cil 
li  a  tel  cop  don6,  Que  .  .  .  Ch.  L.  5656. 

^  Cf.  Vos  le  sivrez  a  feste  saint  Michiel,  Rol.  37. 

•  Cf.  Jusqu'a  la  feste  saint  Jehan,  Ch.  L.  2750.  See  Nyrop, 
Gram.,  vol.  3,  375-378. 

^°  So  C16dat,  in  his  glossary  to  the  Roland,  under  tenir. 


The  Noun.  45 

nos  parot,  Ch.  L.  4369;  N^iert  mes  qui  die  ne  qui  lot 
.  .  .  ib.  4373. 

Rien  (often  not  expressed)  :  Mais  n'at  talant  li  facet 
se  bien  non,"  Eol.  3681 ;  N^avet  fors  le  cuer  e  les  os,  Greg. 
105-11;  Que  ja  n^i  avroiz  se  preu  non,  Erec  5054;  Uan 
dit  que  il  n'i  a  si  grief  A  trespasser  come  le  suel,  Clig. 
2288 ;  De  tot  Favoir  du  monde  n'ai  je  plus  vaillant,  que 
vos  vees  sor  le  cors  de  mi.  line  lasse  mere  avoie,  si 
n'avoit  plus  vaillant  que  une  keutisele,  Auc.  24,  53 ;  Ne 
nos  a  leissie  li  jaianz  Fors  tant  con  nos  avons  ceanz, 
Ch.  L.  3889. 

The  expression  en  grant,  grande,  en  granz,  grandes 
was  probably  formed  through  the  omission  of  some  noun. 
Tobler"  understands  by  it — and,  it  seems,  quite  logic- 
ally— in  grosser  (Not,  Bedrdngniss,  Sorge),  in  grossen 
(No ten,  Besorgnissen) ,  to  which  may  be  added  "  de- 
sire ^' : 

De  son  voloir  an  grant  la  tienent,  Ch.  L.  2108;  Mes 
mout  le  veomes  an  grant  Des  cos  vangier,  que  Pan  li 
done,  ib.  3226. 

NON-REPETITION  OF  THE  NOUN. 

One  of  the  most  frequent  ellipses  is  the  non-repetition 
of  the  noun : 

Granz  folcs  ariedre,  granz  davant,  Pass.  45 ;  La  mortel 
vide  li  prist  molt  a  blasmer,  De  la  celeste  li  mostret  veri- 
tet,  St.  Alex.  13c;  Bries  est  cist  siecles,  plus  durable 
atendeiz,  ib.  110c;  En  som  cez  maz  et  en  cez  haltes 
vernes,  Eol.  2632 ;  Je  vous  ferai  bons  couvens.  Et  quex, 
biax  fix?  Auc.  8,  31;  Et  prist  se  vesture  a  Pune  main 
devant  et  a  Tautre  deriere,  ib.  12,  16;  Puis  demanda, 
quex  hon  c^estoit,  ne  s'il  avoit  guerre,  et  on  li  dist :  Oil, 
grande,  ib.  28,  12;  Et  fist  tel  tans,  con  feire  dut.     Et 

"  Cf.  C'est  uns  avoirs  qui  rien  ne  vaut,  S*an  estor  non,  ou 
an  assaut,  Clig.  1305;  N'i  aveit  chose  se  fens  non,  Gr^g. 
108-3. 

^^Li  dis  dou  vrai  aniel  (Leipzig,  1871),  note  to  1.  2. 


46  Ellipsis  m  Old  French. 

quant  Deus  redona  le  bel,  Sor  le  pin  vindrent  li  oisel, 
Ch.  L.  806 ;  Mes  la  dameisele  li  prie  .  .  .  Come  cortoise 
et  de  bon  eire,  ib.  1305. 

A  noun  need  not  be  repeated  in  a  succeeding  clause  in 
which  it  is  modified 

(a)  by  an  adjective  in  the  comparative  degree : 

E  si  le  prenge  a  seignor^  Quar  ele  ne  pot  aveir  meilor, 
Grreg.  68-21;  Et  se  ele  fu  en  peine  de  I'entrer,  encor  fu 
ele  en  forceur  de  I'isgir,  Auc.  16,  22. 

(b)  by  an  adjective  preceded  by  si: 

S^an  vet  feisant  chiere  dolante;  Qu'ains  si  dolante  ne 
veistes,  Clig.  5694;  Et  cil  vient  la,  qui  mout  covoite  Le 
pain,  si  le  prant  et  s'i  mort.  Ne  cuit  que  onques  de  si 
fort  'Ne  de  si  aspre  eiist  goste,  Ch.  K  2842. 

(c)  by  tel: 

Covert  d'une  coute  si  riche,  Qu'ains  n'ot  tel  li  dus 
d'Osteriche,  Ch.  L.  1041 ;  "  an  quel  meniere?  '^  "  An  tel, 
que  graindre  estre  ne  puet,  An  tel,  que  de  vos  ne  se  muet 
Mes  cuers,  n'onques  aillors  nel  truis.  An  tel,  qu'aillors 
panser  ne  puis,  An  tel,  que  toz  a  vos  m'otroi,''  etc.,  ib. 
2024. 

The  non-repetition  of  plus  used  as  a  noun  does  not 
usually  occur.     The  ellipsis  is  found  in  the  following 


Car  plus  de  bien  et  plus  d'enor  Trova  assez  li  vavassor, 
Qu'an  ne  li  ot  conte  ne  dit ;  Et  an  la  pucele  revit  de  san 
et  de  biaute  gant  tanz,  Que  n'ot  conte  Calogrenanz,  Ch. 
L.  779. 

The  possessive  pronoun,  without  as  well  as  with  the 
definite  article,  is  formed  by  the  non-repetition  of  the 
noun,  as  a  noun  is  formed  from  an  adjective.  Compare, 
for  instance,  the  following: 

Mes  tant  di  de  la  moie  part,  Ch.  L.  6240;  la  terre  Qui 
mon  pere  est  et  moie  apres,  Erec  1331. 


The  Noun.  47 

A  noun  is  occasionally  omitted  in  the  first  clause  when 
it  is  used  in  the  second : " 

Or  te  pri  et  quier  et  demant,  Se  tu  sez,  que  tu  me  con- 
soille  Ou  d^avanture  ou  de  mervoille,  Ch.  L.  364. 

"Examples  of  incorrect  omissions  of  this  sort  are  given 
in  Tobler's  V.  B.,  3,  13,  as:  ge  ne  vi  Ne  n'oi  parler  a  nului 
De  rien  qui  .  .  .  Messire  Thibaut,  li  romanz  de  la  poire,  485. 


CHAPTEE  IV. 

The  Adjective. 

Because  of  the  part  which  the  adjective  necessarily 
plays  in  the  sentence,  its  omission  would  not  be  expected. 
Yet  the  complete  idea  may  sometimes  be  conveyed  with- 
out the  aid  of  the  adjective. 

AUre  is  the  most  frequently  omitted  adjective :  * 

Si  fait  ma  medre  plus  que  femme  qui  vivet,  St.  Alex. 
42b;  Plus  vos  amai  que  nule  creature,  ib.  97c;  Corant  i 
vint  Margariz  de  Sibilie  .  .  .  Wi  at  paiien  de  tel  cheva- 
lerie,  Eol.  955 ;  Deus,  quel  vassal !  soz  ciel  n'a  tel !  Erec 
1255. 

Mauves:  Qui  qu'an  face  chiere  ne  groing,  Clig.  2345 ;  * 
Des  que  li  tans  fu  trespassez,  Ch.  L.  459. 

Premier:  A  vos  conbatuz  ne  me  fusse,  Ainz  me  cla- 
masse  recreant  Devant  le  cop,  ce  vos  creant,  Ch.  L.  6280. 

Quel:  "  Ha !  ^^  font  il,  "  fame,  chose  avere  De  voir 
dire  et  de  mantir  large,^^ '  Ch.  L.  4414. 

Tel:  qu'il  i  a  une  beste  que,  se  vos  le  poi'ies  prendre, 
vos  n^en  donriies  mie  un  des  menbres  por  cine  cens  mars 
d'argent,*  Auc.  22,  35. 

^A  similar  ellipsis  is  found  in  colloquial  English,  as:  He 
has  accomplished  more  than  anyone  (else)  I  know. 

On  the  other  hand,  altre  is  sometimes  superfluous:  On- 
ques  nH  ot  autre  al  veiller  Fors  la  dame  el  chevaler,  Gr6g. 
20-3;  Apres  cele  mort  Wout  altre  confort.  En  enfern  n'alast, 
Reim.  5a;  Ne  vuel  pas  sandier  le  gaignon,  Qui  se  her  ice  et 
regringne,  Quant  autre  mastins  le  rechingne,  Ch.  L.  646.  In 
the  last  quotation  the  adjective  expresses  the  idea  of  com- 
parison, contrast,  as  it  may  also  in  Ch.  L.  4519,  De  priiere 
ate  li  font  Les  dames;  qu'autres  hastons  n*ont.  See  Tohler, 
V.  B.  3,  72-73.  Compare  the  Modern  French  use  of  the  word, 
expressing  contrast,  as:    Nous  autres  Frangais. 

^Cf.  the  English,  "to  make  a  (wry)  face." 

•It  is  possible  that  the  omission  before  chose  is  that  of 
c'est. 

*  Cf.  Car  li  beste  a  tel  me6ine,  que,  se  vos  le  po6s  prendre, 
Tos  ser6s  garis  de  vo  mehaig  (read  mehaing),  Auc.  22,  37. 


The  Adjective.  49 

Tot:  De  la  contrede  ont  porprises  les  parz,  Ne  mais 
que  tant  com  Femperedre  en  at,  Kol.  3332. 

The  Possessive  Adjective. 
Instances  of  the  omission  of  the  possessive  adjective 
are  few : 

Liiedes  mains  cnme  ladron,  Si  Tent  meinent  a  passion,' 
Pass.  163;  Avant  toz  vait  a  passion,  ib.  256;  Alques  vos 
ai  dit  de  raizon  Que  Jesus  fist  por  passion,  ib.  445 ;  En 
piez  se  drecet,"  Rol.  195 ;  Sor  piez  se  drecet,  ib.  2234;  Par 
ancessors  dei  jo  tel  plait  tenir,  ib.  3826;  Car  d^Athenes 
estoit  nais.  An  la  cite  d'ancesserie  Avoient  mout  grant 
seignorie  Toz  jorz  si  ancessor  eue,  Clig.  2462;  Es  vous 
Nichole  au  peron,  Trait  viele,  trait  argon,'  Auc.  39,  12 ; 
Et  trovai  un  chemin  a  destre,  Ch.  L.  180 ;  Mes  cil  le 
trai  ...  En  qui  fu  s^esperance,'  Omnip.  80a. 
The  exclamation  par  foi  is  elliptical  for  par  ma  foi:* 
Par  foi,  done  sui  je  fole,  Clig.  511;  Mil  mars?  Voire, 
par  foi,  trois  mile,  Ch.  L.  1279 ;  Par  foi,  c'est  mervoille 
provee,  ib.  6021. 

The  Article. 

Because  of  the  lack  of  uniformity  which  still  existed 

in  the  use  of  the  article,  its  omission  in  cases  when  its 

employment  would  be  expected,  can  hardly  be  termed 

ellipsis.    For  this  reason,  and  because  its  use  has  already 

■^Cf.  Sa  passions  toz  nos  redenst.  Cum  aproismat  sa 
passions  ...  A  la  citet  volt  aproismier,  Pass.  12;  Fort 
sacrament  lor  comandat  Por  remembrer  sa  passion,  ib.  94; 
Miel  e  peisson  equi  manjat,  En  veritet  les  confirmat;  Sa 
passion  peissons  tostez  E  li  miels  signet  deitet,  ib.  441. 

"  Cf.  Isnelement  sor  lor  piez  relev6rent,  Rol.  3575;  Gu6nes 
li  cuens  a  ses  piez  se  presentet,  ib.  3792;  Isnelement  se  dr6- 
cent  sor  lor  piez,  ib.  3884. 

^  Cf.  si  prist  se  viele,  Auc.  38,  19. 

'  s'  is  lacking  in  the  MS. 

•Cf.  Par  ma  foi,  sire,  I'anperere,  Clig.  368;  Doit  an  atan- 
dre,  par  ma  foi,  Ch.  L.  5913. 

For  the  omission  of  vostre  with  mercif  see  merci,  Chapt. 
II,  and  crier,  Chapt.  VI. 


50  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

been  treated/"  merely  a  few  examples  contrasting  the  use 
and  the  omission  of  the  article  are  here  given. 

(A)  The  Definite  Article. 

II  tot  entorn  t'arbergeront  Et  a  terre  crevanteront, 
Pass.  59 ;  Que  quaisses  mort  a  terre  vindrent,  ib.  399 ;  A 
terre  vait^  culpe  bati,  Gorm.  660. — Cf,  Josqn'a  la  terre 
si  chevel  li  baleient,  Eol.  976;  Qui  lui  vedist  Sarrazina 
desmembrer,  Un  mort  sor  Taltre  a  la  terre  jeter  .  .  .  ib. 
1970;  Puis  a  la  terre  Tabati,  Greg.  43-6;  Me  mist  a  la 
terre  tot  plat,  Ch.  L.  54;  desgant  A  la  terre,  ib.  2259. 

No-l  consentent  fellon  Judeu,  Pass.  222;  Et  en  son 
chief  fellon  Fasisdrent,  ib.  248. — Cf.  Dune  lo  receivent 
li  fellon,  ib.  243 ;  Si  s'escrevantent  li  fellon,  ib.  250. 

Pois  que  Deu  filz  suspenduz  furet,  Pass.  312. — Cf,  Que 
lo  Deu  fil  neiier  li  fait,  ib.  192. 

Franc^  desherbergent,  Rol.  701. — Cf.  or  se  dorment 
li  Franc,  ib.  2521. 

Reis  Corsablis  il  est  de  I'altre  part,  Rol.  885;  Reis 
Canabeus,  ib.  3429.-0/.  li  rois  Artus,  Clig.  119,  436, 
1095,  etc. 

Par  Sehre  amont  tot  lor  navilie  toment,  Rol.  2642 ;  les 
rives  de  Sainne,  Ch.  L.  5980. — Cf.  Desor  le  Sebre  at  sa 
gent  adunede,  Rol.  2758. 

Cors  ont  gaillarz  et  fieres  contenances,  Les  chies  floriz 
et  les  barbes  ont  blanches,  Rol.  3086. 

Molt  les  ot  enemis  lacies  De  fors  e  de  dobles  pechies, 
Greg.  3-17 — Cf.  Encore  fist  li  enemis  Icel  saint  ome 
faire  pis,  ib.  3-13. 

Molt  fu  ten  tee  en  eel  ore  E  Diables  me  corut  sore, 
Greg.  11-15 ;  Lores  fu  Deables  angoissos,  ib.  66-11. — Cf. 
Li  Diables  n^en  sot  nient,  ib.  10-9;  Le  deble  est  un  de 
ceus  .  .  .  Omnip.  7a. 

es  ondes  de  mer,  Gr^g.  22-24. — Cf.  Dreit  al  rivage  de 
la  mer,  ib.  25-18. 

^*»H.  Fredenhagen;    P.  Gelbrich;    H.   Koch;    S.   Schayer; 
Tobler,  V.  B.  2,  96  ff.  (article  15). 
"  Usually  without  the  article  in  the  Roland. 


The  Adjective.  51 

Fu  el  batel  en  mer  getes,  Greg.  33-12;  Yeiant  lui,  la 
geta  en  mer,  ib.  95-20. — Cf.  E  quant  il  fu  nez,  en  la  mer, 
Le  fis,  por  mon  peche,  geter,  ib.  78-9. 

E  por  aprendre  auques  de  letre,  Greg.  23-11;  Li  abes 
I'a  en  conrei  pris  E  en  la  eloistre  a  letres  mis,  ib.  41-7 ; 
Com  cil  qui  esteit  senez  E  de  letres  bien  doctrinez,  ib. 
56-3. — Cf.  Quant  des  letres  auques  saura,  ib.  23-21;  E 
des  letres  aprist  si  bien  Que  .  .  .  ib.  41-14 ;  gramaires  ea 
E  des  letres  el  (read  es)  doctrines,  ib.  48-3. 

Morz  que  demore  et  que  atant.  Que  ne  me  prant  sanz 
nul  respit?  Trop  m^a  la  morz  an  grant  despit!  Erec 
4656. 

Je  sai  bien  garir  d'  idropique.  Si  sai  garir  de  I'arte- 
tique,  De  quinancie  et  de  cuerpous,  Clig.  3023. 

Que  de  rans  ne  s'an  part  aucuns?  Clig.  4651. — Cf, 
Del  ranc  as  autres  se  desrote,  ib.  4666 ;  Des  rens  s'en  ist 
trestot  premier,  Greg.  59-6. 

Tant  con  pins  est  plus  biaus  que  charmes,  Et  li  loriers 
plus  del  seii,  Clig.  4778. 

Por  cent  mile  mars  d'or  mier  Ne  le  fesist  on  si  lie,  Auc. 
9,  3 ;  Les  X  mars  d'argent,  Greg.  42-10.— 0/.  Les  IIII 
mars  de  For  fin,  Greg.  39-10;  Tos  les  X  mars  de  Fargent, 
ib.  38-12. 

il  met  pie  en  estrier,  Auc.  20,  29. — Cf.  II  mist  le  pie 
fors  de  Festrier,  ib.  24,  80. 

Toz  jorz  doit  puir  li  fumiers  Et  taons  poindre  et  maloz 
bruire,  Enuieus  enuiier  et  nuire,  Ch.  L.  116. 

Quant  il  an  a  et  else  et  leu,  Ch.  L.  1322c. — Cf.  Qui 
m'a  done  le  leu  et  Feise  De  feire  chose,  qui  vos  pleise,  ib. 
1083. 

Que  Deus  et  droiz  li  eideront,  Ch.  L.  4333 ;  Que  Deus 
et  droiz  a  un  se  tienent,  ib.  4445. — Cf.  Deus  et  li  droiz 
.  .  .  An  soit  an  a'ie  a  celui,  ib.  5983. 

iWith  the  possessive  adjective — particularly  in  the 
earliest  poems — and  with  the  possessive  pronoun,  the  use 
of  the  article  is  optional : 

venront  li  di  Que  t^asaldront  toi  enemi,  Pass.  57.— 
€f.  Li  toi  chaitif  per  totes  genz  Menet  ent  ierent  a  tor- 


52  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

menz,  ib.  65 ;  A  sos  fedeils  lavat  les  piez^  ib.  92. — Of.  Les 
SOS  talenz  at  fort  montret,  ib.  73;  Quar  soe  fin  vedeir 
voldrat,  ib.  168. — Of.  La  soe  mort  mult  demandant,  ib. 
204. 

Si  n^est  pas  la  besoingne  moie,  Ch.  L.  5071. — Of.  Le 
vostre  seignor  et  le  mien,  ib.  129. 

(B)  The  Indefinite  Article. 

Contrast  the  following  omissions  of  the  indefinite 
article : 

Altre  revendrat  Kil  reguarderat,  Eeim.  54d;  je  sni 
messages,  Erec  6430;  Qu'aingois  grant  piece  qu'il  fust 
jorz,  Clig.  1804;  Tint  cort  si  riche  come  rois,  Ch.  L.  4; 
il  n'avoit  Herbergie  chevalier  errant,  ib.  258;  Et  un  man- 
tel sanz  harigot,  ib.  5428 ;  Se  cil  sens  jorz  fust  trespassez, 
ib.  5859, 

with  its  use  in  some  of  the  following  passages,  in  which 
the  omission  of  the  article  would  not  have  been  sur- 
prising : 

Liverrai  lui  une  mortel  bataille,  Eol.  658 ;  Cil  est  uns 
cuens,  ib.  917;  Uns  altre  le  tint  Ainz  que  il  fust  nez, 
Eeim.  54b;  Carras  de  Corque,  uns  rois  mout  fiers,  Erec 
1965;  Qui  por  un  po  n^anrage  vis,  ib.  4790;  vaut  miauz 
.  .  .  Uns  cortois  morz  qu'uns  vilains  vis,  Ch.  L.  31;  Un 
vilain,  qui  ressanbloit  mor  .  .  .  Vi  je  seoir  sor  une 
goche,  Une  grant  mague  an  sa  main,  ib.  288;  Oroilles 
mossues  et  granz  Auteus  come  a  uns  olifanz,  ib.  299; 
Je  sui  uns  hon,  ib.  330;  Je  sui,  ce  voiz,  uns  chevaliers, 
ib.  358;  N'e  cuit  qu'onques  si  fort  pleiist,  Que  d^eve  i 
passast  une  gote,  ib.  416;  Li  perrons  iert  d^une  esme- 
raude,  Perciez  aussi  come  une  boz,  ib.  424;  Vint  plus 
tost  qu'uns  alerions,  ib.  487;  Mout  amander  et  ancherir 
Se  puet  de  prandre  un  buen  seignor,  ib.  2098 ;  Mout  doit 
an  amer  et  cherir,  Un  prodome,  quant  an  le  trueve,  ib. 
3210;  Dessoz  la  pel  li  a  tolue  Une  grant  piece  de  la 
hanche,  ib.  4224;  Mes  se  uns  chevaliers  s'an  ose  Por  li 
armer  .  .  .  ib.  4796;  Cil  qui  ja  n'iert  Sanz  un  lion,  ib. 


The  Adjective.  53 

5020 ;  Et  Tine  grant  piece  demorent,  ib.  5208 ;  Et  quant 
ele  Fot  esgardee  Une  grant  piece,  ib.  6237;  Eois,  s'or 
puet  estre  desresniee  Ma  droiture  ne  ma  querele  Par  nn 
chevalier,  done  Piert  ele,  ib.  5944. 

NON-REPETITION  OF  THE  ABJECTIVE. 

The  non-repetition  of  the  adjective  occurs  more  fre- 
quently than  the  simple  omission.  The  most  typical  of 
the  few  examples  are : 

Mes  plus  est  hiaus  de  celui  d^ier  Et  plus  de  Lancelot 
del  lac,  Clig.  4786 ;  estoit  si  bele,  que  plus  ne  pooit  estre, 
Auc.  24,  73." 

Dont  il  ne  puet  estre  que  une  De  grant  san  et  de  cor- 
teisie,  Ch.  L.  2410 ;  A  eus  grant  dolur  E  a  nus  honor  Le 
jur  apparilierent,  Omnip.  74a. 

Mais,  si  Dex  me  volt  consentir,  Onques  del  mal  ne 
fust  si  lez  Cum  tu  del  bien  seras  irez,  E  je  serai,  Greg. 
81-8 ;  Ja  mais  n^ierc  liede,  chiers  filz,  ne  n^iert  tes  pedre, 
St.  Alex.  27e. 

Quel  veie  e  chemin  0  tuit  prenent  fin ! "  Eeim.  125a. 

Tel  nen  out  Alixandre  ne  li  vielz  Constantine,  ^N'e 
n'out  Creissenz  de  Eome,  Pel.  de  Ch.  366. 

The  repetition  of  tot  in  the  same  number  and  gender 
is  usually  avoided : 

Et  tuit  li  juene  et  li  chenu,  Erec  559 ;  Si  ai  perdu  de 
mon  avoir  Tot  le  meillor  et  le  plus  chier,  Ch.  L.  3124. — 
However,  Toz  torz  et  toz  mesfez  vos  quit,  Ch.  L.  2012. 

The  familiar  ainc  ne  fu  si  omits  the  repetition  of  the 
adjective : 

Quant  or  i  vint  Aucassins,  Dolans  fu,  ainc  ne  fu  si, 
Auc.  11,  8;  Or  fu  lies,  ainc  ne  fu  si,  ib.  41,  4;  Or  fu  lie, 
ainc  ne  fu  si,  ib.  41,  10. 

"The  omission  of  hiaus  in  the  second  of  the  following 
verses  would  correct  the  meter:  Que  molt  par  est  tiaus  e 
cortois,  Onques  plus  tiaus  nH  ot  cuens  ni  rois,  Gr^g.  20-7. 

"Text  A  reads:  Que  valt  le  c;  text  B:  Quele  voie  quel 
chemin. 


54  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

non-repetition  of  the  possessive  adjective. 

There  are  but  few  cases  in  which  this  form  of  ellipsis 
appears : " 

Que  me  remembre  de  sa  dolor  et  ire,  Eol.  489 ;  Or  le 
appellerent  Lur  rei  e  seniur,  Omnip.  98b. 

Though  the  gender  of  the  second  noun  is  different, 
the  possessive  adjective  is  not  repeated  in  Omnip.  111b, 
Ore  n'ad  nul  ke  sente  Ma  peine  e  turment. 

NON-REPETITION  OF  THE  DEFINITE  ARTICLE. 

The  definite  article  is  customarily  repeated.  All  the 
exceptions  ^^  found  are  given : 

Granz  fut  li  duols,  forz  marrimenz.  Pass.  121;  La 
defers  sont  corut  li  plusor  et  alquant.  Pel.  de  Ch.  339; 
Mais  go  ne  set  li  quels  veint  ne  quels  non,  Rol.  2567 ;  Les 
fameilous  fai  saoler,  Les  nuz  vestir  e  conreer,  Morz  sevei- 
lir  e  enterrer  E  les  nuz  vestir  e  chancier,  Greg.  83-23; 
Tant  se  sont  martele  les  danz  Et  les  joes  et  les  nasez  Et 
poinz  et  bras  et  plus  assez,  Tanples  et  hateriaus  et  cos. 
Que  .  .  .  Erec  5974;  Toz  li  fruiz  et  blez  et  vins  i  vient, 
ib.  5400." 

Even  when  the  form  of  the  article  would  be  different, 
the  omission  in  question  is  not  unknown  to  Old  French : 

Se  li  ciaus  chiet  et  terre  font,  Erec  4436 ;  Cors  as  gent 
et  avenant,  Le  poil  blont  et  reluisant,  Yairs  les  ex,  ciere 
riant,  Auc.  15,  6 ;  Si  vi  qu'il  ot  grosse  la  teste  .  .  .  Che- 

"Hirschberg,  p.  17,  says  that  this  part  of  speech  is  re- 
peated without  exception. 

"Hirschberg,  p.  16,  says:  "die  Wiederholung  des  be* 
stimmten  Artikels  ist  unter  alien  Umstanden  und  ohne  Aus- 
nahme  erforderlich." 

"  In  Rol.  2412 — tant  me  puis  esmaiier  Que  jo  ne  fui  a 
I'estorn  comencier! — a  Vestorn  comencier  =  al  comencier 
Vestorn;  not  a  rare  construction. 


The  Adjective.  55 

vos  meschiez  et  front  pele  .  .  .  Oroilles  mossues  et  granz 
.  .  .  Les  sorciz  granz  et  le  vis  plat  .  .  .  Barbe  noire, 
grenons  tortiz,  Et  le  manton  aers  an  piz,  Longue  eschine, 
torte  et  bogue,  Ch.  L.  295. 

No  example  of  the  non-repetition  of  the  indefinite 
article  has  been  found. 


CHAPTEE  Y. 

The  Pronoun. 
1.  The  Nominative  Pronoun/ 
Notwithstanding  Tobler^s  suggestion ""  of  the  contrary 
possibility,  there  seems  to  be  no  omission  which  may  be 
termed  ellipsis  in  sentences  which,  according  to  him, 
express  a  "direct  question  in  the  form  of  an  indirect 
question/^  as: 

E  icil  dunt  sunt  Qui  la  richesse  unt?  Keim.  29a;  Li 
avoir  dunt  li  vint?  ib.  54a;  II  qu'en  porterat  Quant  il 
s^en  irat?  ib.  55a;  Li  prince  qu^en  unt  Qui  ale  s'en  sunt? 
ib.  92a;  Morz  que  demore  et  que  atant.  .  .  ?  Erec  4656; 
Et  de  sa  biaute  moi  que  chaut?  Clig.  901;  Et  disoient: 
"  Ce  que  puet  estre?  "  ^  Ch.  L.  1111;  Mes  ce  comant  pot 
avenir,  Que  tu  mon  seignor  oceis  .  .  .  ?  ib.  1232 ;  "  Qui 
est,  qui  se  demante  si  ?  ^^  Et  cil  li  respont :  "  Et  vos, 
qui  ?  ^^  ib.  3571 ;  Por  Deu,  biaus  sire,  ce  qu'espiaut,  Que 
onques  mes  ne  vos  veimes  Ne  vostre  non  nomer  n^oimes, 
ib.  4616;  Dameiseles,  que  j^ai  veiies  An  cest  prael,  don 
sont  venues  .  .  .  ?  ib.  5227 ;  Et  il,  que  fet  des  deus  mau- 
fez?  ib.  5587. 

There  is  apparently  an  inversion  of  the  subject,*  prob- 
ably at  first  for  emphasis,  with  a  pronoun  replacing  it 

^With  the  exception  which  follows,  the  omission  of  the 
nominative  pronoun  is  not  treated  in  this  study,  for  usage 
had  not  yet  rendered  the  employment  of  this  pronoun 
requisite. 

^  V.  B.  1,  56  (article  10) :  "  Wer  gem  von  Erganzen,  Hin- 
zudenken  u.  dgl.  redet,  wiirde  etwa  sagen  miissen,  es  sei 
vor  diesen  Fragesatzen  im  Gedanken  einzuschalten:  *  ich 
mochte  wohl  wissen/  *  nun  sage  mir  einer/  '  darf  man 
f ragen  '  oder  ahnliches." 

^Cf.  Old  Provengal:  Cosbx  leuf  aisso  que  vol  dirf  Appel's 
Chrest.,  Jaufre,  p.  20,  1.  429. 

*  Jules  Le  Coultre,  p.  27,  says:  Dans  le  Chevalier  au  Lyon 
nous  trouvons  plus  d'un  exemple  de  cette  construction,  mais 
sans  Temploi  pleonastique  du  pronom,  que  Crestien  ne  con- 
nalt  pas  pour  les  phrases  interrogatives. 


The  Pronoun.  57 

understood  after  the  verb,  since  the  pronoun  is  sume- 
times  expressed.**  This  inversion,  in  which  may  be  seen 
the  forerunner  of  the  general  Modern  French  form  of 
expressing  the  interrogative,  lost,  in  later  times,  like  est- 
ce  que,  much  of  its  early  force,  which,  however,  is  still 
retained  in  certain  cases,  as  when  the  subject  is  a  pro- 
noun— Lui,  que  fait-ilf — precisely  as  in  Ch.  L.  5587° 
above,  with  the  pronoun  omitted  after  the  verb.  The 
omission  of  the  pronoun  in  interrogative  sentences  is  not 
unusual  in  Old  French.' 

2.  The  Accusative  Pronoun. 
Since  the  pronoun  is  employed  to  replace  some  noun 
to  which  allusion  has  been  made,  the  meaning  of  a  sen- 
tence is  often  unimpaired  through  its  omission.  The 
ellipsis  of  the  pronoun  is  therefore  of  frequent  occur- 
rence. 

A.  Simple  Ellipsis.® 

Drecent  lor  sigle,  laissent  corre  par  mer,  St.  Alex.  16d ; 
Danz  Alexis  entrat  en  une  nef :  Ovrent  lor  vent,  laissent 
corre  par  mer,  ib.  39a;  En  France  dolce  iert  menede  chai- 
tive,  Qo  voelt  li  reis  par  amor  (sc.  la)  convertisset,  Kol. 
3673;  Si  li  tendi  e  si  li  dist:  "  Qu'il  gardast  enz  e  si  (or 
si  =  si  i?)  leissist,  Greg.  49-19 ;  E  li  bons  venz  les  a  droit 
mis  En  cele  encontree,  tot  droit,  De  quel  sa  mere  dame 

^Uaveirs  Gharlon  est  il  apareilliezf  Rol.  643;  and  so  with 
Crestien,  contrary  to  Le  Coultre's  statement  (see  note  4), 
Et  mes  sire  Gauvains,  chaeles,  Li  frans,  li  douz,  ou  iert  il 
donques?  Ch.  L.  3697.  See  Schulz,  Herrig's  Archiv,  Bd.  71, 
p.  305. 

'The  verses  preceding  show  the  idea  of  emphasis:  Que 
petit  d'a'ie  li  fet  Escuz  ne  hiaumes,  que  il  et;  Car,  quant  sor 
le  hiaume  Vataingnent,  Trestot  li  anbuignent  et  fraingnent 
.  .  .  Mout  font  andui  a  redoter,  5579-5586. 

^See  Tobler,  Zts.  f.  r.  Ph.  3  (1879),  p.  144  ff.— e*  dont 
n'aprendra?  Fl.  u.  Bl.;  E  de  ta  medre  que  n'aveies  mercitf 
St.  Alex.  88c. 

» See  below,  p.  63  ft. 


58  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

estoit,  Qui  (sc.  le)  fist  metre  es  ondes  de  mer,  Por  la 
grant  honte  eschiver,  ib.  52-14 ;  Ceo  crei :  ne  laissast,  Ne 
volsist  foler,  Eeim.  71e;  La  mague  a  deus  mains  leva  Et 
euida  ferir  a  droiture  Parmi  le  chief  sanz  coverture,  Erec 
4454 ;  Et  cuide  ferir  de  rechief  A  delivre  parmi  le  chief, 
ib.  4465 ;  Ancor  i  a  de  teus  reduiz,  Que  nus  hon  ne  porroit 
trover,  Clig.  5576;  Je  li  cuit  feire  tel  assaut  Qu'il  con- 
perra  mout  duremant,  Erec  2818 ;  "  craves  vos  fait  de 
Mcolete  .  .  .?^^  "car  laisgies  ester/^ '  Auc.  6,  8-14; 
"  Charles  ne  crient  home  qui  seit  vivanz.^^  "  Laissiez 
ester/'  dit  Marsilies  li  reis,  Eol.  2740;  Confortez  vos! 
Leissiez  ester,  Erec  5863;  celui  troverent,  Que  il  por 
ocirre  queroient,  Ch.  L.  1097;  Communement  crierent: 
^  Li  rei  Juda  K^a  nus  venir  denia ! '  0  haute  voiz  loerent, 
Omnip.  94c. 

The  pronoun  would  refer  to  a  following  noun  in 
Omnip.  82a, 

La  peine  deservie  Tant  ne  greve  mie  Cum  cele  ke  vent 
a  tort.  II  n^out  point  deservi.  Pur  go  semla  a  li  Sun 
turment  plus  fort. 

B.  Before  a  Dative. 
The  omission  of  the  pronoun  in  this  position  is  com- 
paratively rare :  ^^ 

" Le"  before  "te":  Je  te  dirai,  Ja  mon  non  ne  te 
celerai,"  Erec  1059. 

'  If  laissier  ester  means  "  to  cease,"  there  is  no  ellipsis. 
Cf.,  however,  laissez  m'ester,  Gr6g.  106-1;  Nicolete  laise 
ester,  Auc.  2,  27. 

^"Except  before  a  dative  of  the  third  person,  for  which 
see  Chapt.  I. 

^  Probably  a  true  case,  for  the  use  of  le  with  dire  is  cus- 
tomary.   Compare : 

Dites  le  moi,  S'il  est  a  conte  ou  a  roi.  Des  que  ci  amen6 
m'avez,  Dites  le  moi,  se  vos  savez,  Erec  5383;  Qui  que  il 
soit,  dites  le  nos,  ib.  5424;  Dites  le  moi,  se  vos  savez.  An 
quel  leu  cist  maus  vos  tient  plus,  Clig.  3018;  Et  jel  vos  dis 
mout  bien  avant,  Ch.  L.  1719;  Je  le  vos  dirai  sanz  mantir, 
ib.  3624;  "  Gi6,"  fet  il,  "  nel  vos  dirai  mie.  Querez  autrui, 
qui  le  vos  die!  '*  ib.  5237;  Jo  les  vus  dirrai,  Ausi  cum  jo  sal, 
Omnip.  6a;  Pur  veirs  le  vus  di,  ib.  50e;  Pur  veir  le  vus  di, 
ib.  79b.    See  also  P61.  de  Ch.  741;  Clig.  3028,  6597. 


The  Pronoun.  59 

"  Le"  before  "vos'':  Dites  qui  vos  a  devant  mis, 
Greg.  45-8 ;  "  Alez/^  fet  il,  "  je  vos  comant,  A  mon  sei- 
gnor  seiiremanV^  Clig.  2171;  ISTe  cuidiez  pas  que  je 
vos  die,  Por  feire  demorer  mon  conte,  ib.  4636 ;  "  Di  le 
moi,  jel  te  comant.'^    "  Je  vos  dirai?  ^^  ib.  6597. 

'*"  Les  "  hefore  "  vos  " :  Ne  tant  sot  is  n'estes  et  sages. 
Que  plus  trovoiz  ici  estages,  Se  je  ne  vos  mostre  et  an- 
saing,  Clig.  5581. 

C. 

A  noun  may  serve  as  object  to  two  verbs,  even  of  dif- 
ferent clauses,  not  being  repeated  in  the  form  of  a  pro- 
noun before  the  second  verb : 

Trestoz  li  poples  lodet  Deu  e  graciet,  St.  Alex.  108e; 
Point  le  cheval,  laisset  corre  ad  espleit,  Rol.  3547 ;  Puis 
prist  les  tables  maintenant  E  le  bon  paile  alisandrin  E 
les  IIII  mars  de  Tor  fin ;  Si  enporta  ensemble  o  sei,  GTreg. 
39-8;  Les  tables  prist,  si  enporta,  ib.  69-16;  List  i  les 
tables  e  laissa,  ib.  70-11;  Torchent  les  chevaus  et  es- 
trillent,  Erec  359 ;  Je  n^aim  ma  vie  ne  ne  pris,  ib.  4343 ; 
Granz  vitance  est  de  chevalier  Nu  desvestir  et  puis  liier 
Et  batre  si  vilainnemant,  ib.  4413;  conduit  Vers  li  ses 
iauz  covertemant  Et  ramainne,  Clig.  2801;  Thessala 
trible  sa  poison,  Especes  i  met  a  foison  Por  adoucir  et 
atanprer,  ib.  3251;  Dus,  recovree  avons  t^amie.  Or  n^an 
manront  li  Grejois  mie,  ib.  3693 ;  prent  s'amie  devant  lui 
baisant  et  acolant,  Auc.  26,  21 ;  S'au  bacin  viaus  de  Feve 
prandre  Et  dessus  le  perron  espandre  .  .  .  Ch.  L.  395; 
il  aporterent  Par  ci  le  cors,  por  metre  an  terre,  Ch.  L. 

^Comander  requires  the  pronoun.  Compare: 
Jo  m'escondirai  ja,  se  vos  le  comandez,  A  jurer  sairement 
o  jui'se  a  porter,  P61.  de  Ch.  34 ;  "  Volentiers,"  dist  li  coens, 
"quant  vos  le  comandez,"  ib.  554;  so  ib.  580;  Ne  parlez 
mais,  se  jo  nel  vos  comant,  Rol.  273;  Or  irez  vos  certes 
quant  jol  comant,  ib.  289;  Puis  quel  comant,  aler  vos  en 
estoet,  ib.  300;  Ferez,  Franceis!  car  jol  vos  recomant,  ib. 
1937;  Franceis  descendent,  Charles  I'at  comandet,  ib.  2952; 
Lors  ont  le  chapelain  mand^  Si  con  li  cuens  I'ot  comand6, 
Erec  4767;  Car  avant  mener  ne  vos  doi  Si  con  li  rois  I'a 
comande,  ib.  5866;  Relevez  sus,  jel  vos  comant,  Clig.  381; 
Cele  vient,  quant  il  le  comande,  ib.  3240,  and  below  ib.  6597. 


60  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

1070;  Et  fiert  son  piz  et  esgratine,  ib.  1486;  qui  anbri- 
cona  Le  roi  tant  que  il  li  bailla  La  reine  et  mist  an  sa 
garde,  ib.  3923. 

The  noun-subject  of  the  first  clause  is  not  replaced  by 
a  pronoun  when  it  is  the  object  of  the  second,  in  Eol. 
3625, 

PaUen  s'en  fuient,  com  damnes  Deus  le  voelt:  En- 
chalcent  Franc  et  Femperedre  avoec. 

The  noun-object  of  a  preposition  in  the  first  clause  is 
not  replaced  by  a  pronoun  when  object  of  the  verb  in  the 
second,"  in  Clig.  267, 

Que  des  vaslez  mout  lor  enuie.  Que  Damedeus  a  port 
conduie. 

D. 

Eeferring  to  a  phrase  or  fact,  the  accusative  pronoun 
is  sometimes  omitted :  " 

Bites-mei  tost  que  vos  voles,  Por  Deu  vos  pri,  ne  me 
seles,  Greg.  15-9;  Et  se  je  puis,^^  jusqu'au  tierz  jor  Me 
serai  mis  el  retor,  Erec  265;  Mais  se  je  puis,  il  ne  vos 
tenront  ja,  Auc.  26,  20 ;  Mes  se  je  puis,  sire  vassaus,  Sor 
vos  retornera  li  maus,  Ch.  L.  497. 

With  comander  this  pronoun  is  usually  employed"; 
exceptions  are: 

Si  com  comandez.  Pel.  de  Ch.  847;  Se  vos  comandez, 
Sire,  toz  voz  mires  mandez,  Clig.  5743. 

"  The  following  examples  are  given  by  Tobler  in  the  Oott. 
Gel.  Anz.  1875,  p.  1070:  Deivent  en  Deu  aveir  fiance  E  en- 
norer  de  lur  sustance,  Wace,  8.  N.  19;  tendit  ses  mains  por 
juer  a  la  corone  e  por  prendre,  Serm.  poit.  193. 

^*  See  p.  61. 

^^  Though  the  pronoun  is  usually  lacking  in  the  expression 
se  je  puis,  it  was  probably  understood,  at  least  in  early 
times.  Cf.  Longement  nH  serai  prise,  Se  jel  puis  mie,  Auc. 
5,  24. 

"  See  note  12,  p.  59. 


The  Pronoun.  61 

The  same  is  true  of  dire";  the  following  omissions 
occur : 

Et  iert  ovrez  tant  sotilmant.  Dire  vos  puis  certainne- 
mant,  Que  nus  .  .  .  Erec  2647;  Biaus  fiz,  por  Deu,  ne 
dites !  Clig.  123;  s'il  Faime  si  com  il  dist,  Auc.  19,  11; 
Einsi  tres  leide  creature  Qu'an  ne  porroit  dire  de  boche, 
Ch.  L.  290. 

With  (1)  daignier,  (2)  oser,  (3)  savoir  and  (4) 
voloir  the  omission  of  the  pronoun  is  not  unusual : 

(1)  Ja  le  leissames  por  peresce,  Espoir,  que  nos  ne 
nos  levames,  Ou  por  ce,  que  nos  ne  deignames!  Ch.  L. 
80;  Qu^  onques  les  chevaus  an  nul  leu  N"e  ferirent  ne 
maheignierent,  Qu^il  ne  vostrent  ne  ne  deignierent,  ib. 
856. 

(2)  Volentiers  le  baisast,  mais  por  son  pere  n^oset, 
Pel.  de  Ch.  826;  Dirai  li  done  tot  en  apert?  .  .  .  Je 
n^oseroie,  Erec  3742;  Que  seul  a  seul,  se  Cliges  ose,  Iert 
antr^aus  bataille  prise,  Clig.  3948. 

(3)  "  Ne  sai ''—''  'Ne  sai,"  ce  dit  chascuns,  Erec  765; 
Mes  dites  moi,  se  vos  savez,  Li  chevaliers  .  .  .  Ch.  L. 
1799;  Si  vus  savez,  numez  Li  queus  vus  ferri,  Omnip. 
43b. 

(4)  Se  li  reis  voelt,  jo  i  puis  aler  bien,  Eol.  258 ;  Mais, 
si  Dex  me  volt  consentir,  Onques  del  mal  ne  fust  si  lez 
Cum  tu  del  bien  seras  irez,  G-reg.  81-8;  Mais  je  le  vos 
conterai,  se  vos  voles,  Auc.  22,  25. 

E.  The  Predicate  Pronoun. 
The  predicate  pronoun  is  rarely  used  in  Old  French : 

mout  me  poise.  Que  por  nos  deus  se  conbatront  Dui  si 
prodome  con  cist  sont,  Ch.  L.  5968;  Ainz  cort  li  uns  a 
Fautre  sore  Plus  fieremant  qu^ains  mes  ne  firent,  ib. 
6158 ;  N^estes  si  estordiz  ne  vains.  Que  je  autant  ou  plus 
ne  sole,  ib.  6254. 

"  See  note  11,  p.  58. 


62  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

Yet,  as  Tobler  ^*  points  out,  its  use  was  not  unknown. 
Examples,  supplementary  to  his  list,  are: 

Je  sui  vostre  et  estre  le  vuel,  Erec  3367;  Car  se  je  par 
vos  ne  le  sui,  Ne  serai  chevaliers  clamez,  Clig.  354;  Eois, 
s^or  puet  estre  desresniee  Ma  droiture  ne  ma  querele  Par 
un  chevalier,  done  Fiert  ele  Par  cestui,  Ch.  L.  5944. 

Si,  which  might  be  considered  to  replace  a  predicate 
pronoun,  has  no  such  value  according  to  Tobler,  who 
says,  "  ein  pradikativer  Ausdruck  ganzlich  f ehlt.^^ "  The 
statement  leaves  room  for  doubt.  Is  this  si  not  similar 
in  meaning  to  the  English  "  so,^^  which  is  equivalent  to 
a  predicate  pronoun?  At  least  many  of  Tobler's  ex- 
amples do  not  exclude  this  possibility,  particularly  those 
in  which  si  is  accompanied  by  et.  This  is  true  also  of  the 
following : 

Ne  cuident  pas  que  il  ne  soient  Tuit  de  contes  ou  de 
roi  fil ;  Et  por  voir  si  estoient  il,  Clig.  322. 

Moreover,  Tobler  does  not  consider  si  with  fairs  to 
have  the  value  of  a  pronoun,  and  his  statement  that  it  is 
"beinah  eine  Konj unction  ^^  seems  questionable.  If  it 
be  equivalent  to  a  pronoun,  there  is  no  way  by  which  this 
meaning  can  be  shown  more  clearly  than  by  the  follow- 
ing examples : 

"  Laissiez  les  morz  tot  issi  com  il  sont  ^^  .  .  .  "  Dreiz 
emperedre,  chiers  sire,  si  ferons,^^  Eol.  2435-2441 ;  "  Vos 
n'i  iroiz ! ''  ^'  Je  si  ferai,^^  Erec  215 ;  "  Ne  ne  te  fis  honte 
ne  let.''  Erec  respont:  "Si  avez  fet,''  ib.  1007;  Mes 
Deus  li  porra  bien  eidier,  Et  je  cuit  que  si  fera  il,  ib. 
3428 ;  si  apela  la  dame  et  li  dist  qu'ele  alast  por  Aucassin 
son  ami.    Et  ele  si  fist,  Auc.  40,  37. 

Furthermore,  the  object  pronoun  does  not,  to  my 
knowledge,  occur  with  si  thus  employed,  apparently  giv- 

"V.  B.  1,  87  (article  15). 


The  Pronoun.  63 

ing  si  the  force  of  a  pronoun,  whereas  it  is  found  in  the 
negative : 

J'i  puis  aler  molt  bien. — N'el  ferez  certes,  dist  li  cuens 
Oliviers,  Eol.  254;  Erec  a  la  dame  comande  Qu^ele 
dorme,  et  il  vellera.  Cele  respont  que  nel  f era ;  Car  n'est 
droiz,  et  feire  nel  viaut,  Erec  3090. 

It  will  be  seen  from  above  citations  that  the  use  of  si 
in  place  of  the  pronoun  in  cases  such  as  the  following, 
would  be  entirely  in  accordance  with  Old  French  usage : 

Lors  dit  au  lion,  qu'il  se  traie  Arriere  et  que  toz  coiz 
se  gise,  Et  il  le  fet  a  sa  devise,  Ch.  L.  4472. 

F.  The  Reflexive  Pronoun. 

The  freedom  with  which  object  pronouns  might  be 
omitted  in  Old  French  has  been  seen."  Usage  of  the 
reflexive  pronoun  was  not  more  rigid.  In  general,  un- 
necessary object  pronouns  often  remained  unexpressed 
in  many  cases  in  which  Modern  French  requires  them. 

Since  the  pronoun,  as  object  to  the  principal  verb,  was 
often  necessary  to  a  complete  understanding  of  the  sen- 
tence, and  was  also  used,  as  in  most  languages,  when  the 
idea  might  be  conveyed  without  its  aid,  it  was  usually 
expressed  with  the  principal  verb.  This  is  also  true  to  a 
certain  extent  of  the  reflexive  pronoun,  but  its  appear- 
ance was  governed  rather  by  the  usage  of  the  verb  as  a 
reflexive.  As  there  was  no  emphasis  on  this  pronoun,  the 
unstressed  form — whether  reflexive  or  not — was  used,^ 
and  usually  placed  before  the  verb,  or  before  the  first  of 
two  verbs  necessarily  dependent  on  each  other  to  express 
the  idea,  as  aler  followed  by  an  infinitive  or  a  present 
participle,  and  comencier,  cuidier,  devoir,  oser,  pooir, 

"  P.  57  ff. 


64  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

prendre  a,  rover,  sa/ooir,  venvr  and  voloir  governing  in- 
finitives : 

For  eiel  tiel  dnol  rova  s  clergier^  St.  Leg.  65  (diplo- 
matic text.  See  clergier,  p.  96)  ;  Danz  Alexis  la  prist 
ad  apeler,  St.  Alex.  13b;  En  la  samaine  qued  il  s'en  dut 
aler,  ib.  59a;  De  nnle  chose  certes  ne  Tsai  blasmer^  ib. 
69b ;  Yait  s^apoiier  ^  soz  le  pin  a  la  tige,  Eol.  500 ;  se  vait 
escridant,  ib.  2843;  Que  a  lui  se  puisse  accorder,  Greg. 
97-6;  Que  mort  trover  vos  i  cuidoie,  Clig.  5068;  A  de- 
menter  si  se  prist,"^  Anc.  11,  10 ;  et  qu'il  le  viegne  cacier, 
ib.  18,  19 ;  Et  qui  or  me  voldra  antandre,  Cuer  et  oroilles 
me  doit  randre,  Ch.  L.  169;  W\  a  celi,  qui  s'ost  movoir, 
ib.  344;  se  commencierent  a  esbruir,^  Bersuire,  T,  Liv, 
(Godefroy). 

But  when  the  dependent  verb  is  unnecessary  for  the 
completion  of  the  simple  principal  statement,  being 
added  simply  to  modify  or  enlarge  on  the  statement,  the 
preceding  noun  or  pronoun — whether  object  or  subject — 
often  indicates  clearly  the  object  of  this  subordinate 
verb,  and  the  object  pronoun  may  then  be  omitted,  (a) 
reflexive,  (&)  non-reflexive: 

(a)  En  tei  deis  prendre  grant  porpens  E  contenir"" 
en  itel  guise  Que  il  ne  tort  a  vilenie,  Greg.  28-10; 
Aparelliez  sui  de  defandre,"^  Erec  5931;  mais  ele  n^avoit 
cure  de  marier,"*'  Auc.  38,  10;  S'ales  selonc  cele  forest 
esbanoiier,'"  ib.  20,  22;  Apres  mangier  sanz  remuer," 
Ch.   L.   595;   D^ici   m^en  voi  pur   asperir,*'   8.  Bran- 

2"  See  p.  39,  note  11. 

^Not  to  be  mistaken  for  the  reflexive  of  prendre  and 
comencier,  as  has  been  done  by  Suchier  (glossary  to  Auc.) 
and  Godefroy  (under  esbruir,  neuter)  respectively.  See 
lists,  p.  70  ff. 

^No  other  example  of  the  non-reflexive  use  (when  the 
meaning  is  reflexive)  has  been  found. 

*'  Only  one  other  example  of  the  non-reflexive  use  has  been 
found. 

^  Thus  even  with  aJer.  Eshanoiier  is  more  often  reflexive. 
Suchier  (glossary  to  Auc.)  says:  "  inf.  avec  pron.  r6fl.  sous- 
entendu.'* 

^  More  often  reflexive. 


The  Pronoun.  65 

dan,  1316,  Michel  (Godefroy) ;  Trois  jorz  i  dort  seins 
esperir,^  Gerv.,  Best.  (Godefroy)  ;  Dune  s'en  ala  li  ber, 
ni  out  ke  kurecer,*'  Gam.,  8,  Thorn.  (Godefroy) ;  M  out 
ke  kurucer,**  id.,  ib. ;  ou  n^ot  qu'espaorir/"  Herb.  Leduc, 
Folq.  de  Cand.  p.  157,  Tarbe  (Godefroy)  ;  n^i  ot  qu^es- 
pauerir,"*  Beuv.  d'Hanst.  (Godefroy) ;  A  sun  pere  se  vout 
gaber  Et  en  gabant  li  vout  monstrer  .  .  .  Wace,  Brut 
(Bartsch^s  Chrest.  113,  4) ;  ne  vos  caut  d'esmaier,'"  Chev. 
au  cygne,  II,  3558,  Hippeau  (Godefroy)  ;  Ne  vous  ehaut 
d'esmaier,^  Berte,  324,  Scheler  (Godefroy) ;  ne  s^a  de 
coi  reconforter,"  Roman  de  Renart  (Bartsch^s  Chrest. 
213,  28)  ;  Pur  go  vus  pri  del  tut  gehir,  Merci  crier  e 
repentir,"  Vie  de  saint  Gilles,  2819  (Godefroy) ;  A  Huit- 
sand  est  venuz,  ala  par  le  graver  Pur  esgarder  Fore  et 
pur  esbaneier,*^  Gam.,  Vie  de  8.  Thorn.  (Godefroy)  ;  En 
mervillant ""  mes  cuers  s'esveille,  Kenclus  de  Moiliens, 
de  Carite,  LXXI,  6,  Van  Hamel  (Godefroy);  Ne  le 
quidai  pas  eslongier,  Assi  con  por  esbanoier  "  M'en  parti 
al  solel  levant,  Durmars  le  Gallois,  3923,  Stengel  (Gode- 
froy) ;  Le  menerent  li  desloial  pour  esbanier  au  defors 
de  la  cite,  Chron.  de  8.  Den.  (Godefroy)  ;  Alons  i  tost 
abanoiant,  Eob.  de  Blois,  Poes.  (Godefroy). 

(b)^  S'il  vint  a  li  por  conforter,  Greg.  21-7;  Quant 
desarmez  les  orent  toz,  Por  mostrer  a  lor  janz  dessoz,  Les 
ont  as  deffanses  montez,  Clig.  2159;  Especes  i  met  a 
foison  Por  adoucir  et  atanprer,  ib.  3252;  huis  ne  fenestre 
N^est  nus  qui  an  cest  mur  veist,  Et  cuidiez  vos  qu'an  le 
poist  An  nule  guise  trespasser  Sanz  anpirier  et  sanz 
quasser?  ib.  5604;  Ja  la  voloient  au  feu  metre  Por  rostir 
et  por  greillier,  ib.  6016;  si  traist  au  chastel  por  asalir, 
Auc.  8,  4;  c^'on  le  remenroit  en  le  vile  por  ardoir,  ib.  16, 
31 ;  prent  s'amie  devant  lui  baisant  et  acolant,  ib.  26,  21; 
il  aporterent  Par  ci  le  cors,  por  metre  an  terre,  Ch.  L. 
1070;  celui  troverent,  Que  il  por  ocirre  queroient,  ib. 
1097;  Qui  voit  qu'an  le  quiert  por  ocirre,  ib.  1553;  Ke 

^  These  are  the  only  cases  of  non-reflexive  use  found  (ex- 
cept some  in  which  the  verb  depends  on  faire.    See  p.  66). 
*^More  often  reflexive. 
^  See  Tobler,  Oott.  Gel.  Anz.  1875,  p.  1070. 
5 


6B  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

quistrent  nostre  sire  Nent  sulement  pur  occire,  Tant 
furent  feluns^  Mes  crucifier  Pur  lungement  pener, 
Omnip.  83d. 

It  may  be  partly  through  this  frequent  omission  of 
the  object  pronoun  that  the  substantive  use  of  the  infini- 
tive became  general: 

Car  quan  que  avums,  Dunt  nos  tant  penums  De  Vsl- 
munceler  .  .  .  Eeim.  Ilia;  Qui  au  descire  mist  s^an- 
tante,  Erec  6739;  II  n^i  a  que  del  consirrer,^  Ch.  L. 
3119;  Wi  ot  neant  de  Teschaper  Ne  del  ganchir  ne  del 
deffandre,  ib.  3284. 

Even  the  verbs  depending  on  covenir,  estovoir,  faire^ 
laissier,  her,  mener,  oir,  veoir,  and  usually  when  de- 
pending on  venir,  though  necessary  to  the  principal  state- 
ment, are  used  without  the  reflexive  pronoun,  for  the 
object  of  the  above  verbs  is  identical,  with  that  of  the 
dependent  infinitive,  or,  as  with  venir,  the  subject  of  the 
principal  verb  is  the  same  person  as  the  object  of  the 
dependent  infinitive,  and  thus  no  obscurity  results.  A 
decided  tendency  to  omit  the  unimportant  reflexive  pro- 
noun— object  of  a  dependent  infinitive — is  thus  seen : 

Oovenir:  Des  or  aler  les  an  covient,  Erec  5260 ;  Cuida, 
qu'a  lui  le  covenist  Conbatre,''  Ch.  L.  3389 ;  Li  cuers  li 
faut,  si  le  covint  pasmer,""  La  Bataille  d'Aliscans 
(Bartsch's  Ohrest,  80,  40). 

^In  a  note  to  this  verse  Foerster  says:  Nur  ist  zu  be- 
merken,  dass  consirrer  refl.  ist,  das  Refl.-Pron.  .  .  .  aber 
beim  subst.  Inf.  fallt. 

^A  rare  exception  is  found  in  Pass.  35:  (Jesiis)  Qui  eps 
les  morz  fait  se  revivre. 

When  depending  on  comander,  atorner,  which  is  in  all 
other  cases  reflexive,  is  used  without  the  reflexive  pronoun 
in  Erec  2293:  Erec  ne  vost  plus  sejorner;  Sa  fame  comande 
atorner.  But  it  is  not,  of  course,  certain  that  fame  is  the 
object  of  comande. 

*^  Usually  reflexive. 

^  See  p.  71,  note  47. 


The  Pronoun.  67 

Estovoir:  Panse  (m'arester  li  estuet,  Erec  3581 ;  Iluec 
I'estuet  anuit  logier,  ib.  4121;  Recroire  ou  reposer  Fes- 
tuet,  ib.  5014. 

Faire:  E  si  le  face  o  sei  soper  E  un  petit  al  feu  chau- 
fer,"  Greg.  88-13 ;  Por  lui  feire  plus  esmaiier  ^  Li  ra  une 
anvaie  feite,  Erec  3856 ;  A  tant  uns  messages  acort,  Que 
il  orent  fet  avancier,"  ib.  6424 ;  Lors  le  fet  la  dame  dre- 
cier/'  Ch.  L.  6738;  El  fosse  les  unt  fait  ruer/'  Wace, 
Rou  (Bartsch's  Chrest.,  123,  30). 

Laissier:  ne  les  laist  guaires  departir,"  Gr^g.  59-20; 
Ainz  qu^il  le  laissast  remuer,"  Erec  3988 ;  Et  cez  janz  de- 
partir  laissiez;  Qu'il  se  departiront  par  tans,  Ch.  L. 
1312 ;  Or  nos  laisies  a  vos  paier'°  et  acorder,"  Rerumt  de 
Montauban  (Bartsch's  Chrest.,  83,  26). 

Loer:  Si  con  je  vos  lo  contenir,"  Ch.  L.  1315. 

Mener:  Et  ele  me  mena  seoir,*'  Ch.  L.  238. 

O'ir:  "  Ne  vos  conoistroie  des  mois,  Se  je  nomer  **  ne 
vos  ooie  Ou  desarme  ne  vos  veoie.^'  Lors  s'est  mes  sire 
Yvains  nomez,  Ch.  L.  2276. 

Venir:  Furent  venu  esbanoiier,"  Clig.  1268;  Mes  s'a 
ma  cort  voloit  venir  Cist  chevaliers  o  nos  deduire/"  ib. 
4972. 

Veoir:  La  verrez  .  .  .  L^un  acier  depecier  a  l^altre  et 
entroschier,**  Pel.  de  Ch.  547 ;  Que  je  les  veisse  deduire  " 
De  vostre  mort,  Ch.  L.  3744;  Ses  voient  antreconjoir/^ 
ib.  6317. 

The  dependent  infinitive  described  above — which  is 
unnecessary  for  the  statement  of  the  principal  idea — is 
regularly  preceded  by  a  preposition,  and  the  object  pro- 

^  Reflexive  in  all  other  cases. 

This  omission  of  the  reflexive  pronoun,  object  of  the  verb 
depending  on  faire,  is  still  found  in  Modern  French:  je  Ven 
ferai  repentir. 

^*More  often  reflexive. 

^  Usually  reflexive. 

^"  Reflexive  in  all  other  cases. 

"  Though  the  example  is  not  satisfactory,  it  is  noteworthy 
that  no  examples  of  the  reflexive  use  of  a  verb  depending 
on  mener  have  been  found. 


68  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

noun,  when  used,  occurs  in  the  stressed  form.  It  is 
probably  the  general  belief  that  the  reason  for  this  form 
of  the  pronoun  is  the  influence  of  the  preceding  preposi- 
tion ^^ — ^that  it  was  felt  to  be  governed  by  it.  Examina- 
tion, however,  points  to  a  different  cause. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  following  examples  that  in 
the  earlier  writings  the  object  pronoun — reflexive  or 
non-reflexive — when  occurring  in  this  position,  usually 
bears  a  certain  amount  of  stress,  which  is  in  some  cases 
only  the  stress  resulting  from  a  desire  to  distinguish  this 
pronoun  from  one  preceding  or  following : 

Al  due  Willeame  vindrent  pur  els  (i=  soi)  esbaneier, 
Bou,  Andresen  (Godefroy)  ;  S'amors  me  chastie  et  menace 
Por  moi  aprandre  et  anseignier,  Doi  je  mon  mestre  desdei- 
gnier  ?  Clig.  682 ;  Que  desirranz  et  anvieus  Sui  ancor  de 
moi  remirer  El  front,  ib.  806;  Que  ja  a  tant  n'iert  de 
male  part  Cliges,  s^il  set  que  ele  Faint  Et  que  tel  vie  por 
lui  maint  Con  de  garder  son  pucelage  Por  lui  garder  son 
eritage,  ib.  3224 ;  Et  je  cuit  que  por  aus  grever  Leva  ainz 
qu^ele  (=  la  lune)  ne  soloit,  ib.  1702;  De  lui  armer 
mout  se  travaillent,  Ch.  L.  4160;  Si  se  pooient  esjoir 
Mout  de  li  veoir  et  oir,  ib.  5371 ;  Por  lui  eidier  cele  part 
cort  Et  por  lui  meisme  deffandre,  ib.  5642. 

In  view,  then,  of  the  frequent  omission  of  the  unim- 
portant object  pronoun,  and  a  decided  stress  on  it  in 
many  of  its  occurrences,  it  appears  that  the  stressed  form 
is  probably  due  to  an  emphasis  laid  on  the  word,  and  not 
to  the  influence  of  the  preceding  preposition.  It  may 
therefore  be  assumed  that  at  an  early  period  only  the 
stressed  form  was  used  in  this  position,  for,  if  unem- 
phatic,  the  pronoun  would  be  omitted — a  usage  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  brevity  of  expression  of  the  Latin 
mother  tongue.    If,  then,  the  pronoun,  though  not  em- 

^^  See  Le  Coultre,  p.  55. 


The  Pronoun.  69 

phatic,  were  to  be  inserted  for  any  reason,  it  is  highly 
improbable  that  it  would  be  used  in  any  but  the  stressed 
form,  possibly  aided  by  a  freedom  in  the  use  of  this  form 
of  the  pronoun  when  apparently  not  required.^ 

There  was  later  a  tendency  to  insert  the  pronoun  when 
not  strictly  necessary  for  the  understanding  of  the  sen- 
tence, the  result  of  which  is  seen  in  Modern  French 
usage.  The  occasional  appearance  of  the  unnecessary 
non-reflexive  object  pronoun  may  be  considered  to  mark 
the  rise  of  this  tendency — that  of  the  reflexive  pronoun 
probably  being  due  to  a  different  cause,  i,  e.,  an  exten- 
sion of  the  use  of  this  pronoun  with  verbs  ordinarily  re- 
flexive, to  the  position  in  question — an  extension  less 
surprising  than  its  considerably  more  usual  omission. 
Examples  of  this  use  of  the  pronoun  are : 

As  tables  joeent  por  els  esbaneiier,  Rol.  Ill ;  Sebile  la 
roine  par  delez  le  gravier  Fu  de  sa  tante  issue  por  li  es- 
benoier,  J.  Bod.,  Sojx,,  LXVII,  Michel  (Godefroy). 

The  following  lists  of  verbs,  including  only  those 
found  in  the  works  examined  for  this  dissertation,  are 
given  with  a  view  of  showing  Old  French  usage  of  the 
reflexive  pronoun,  for  it  is  only  with  this  knowledge  at 
hand  that  the  ellipsis  of  this  pronoun  can  be  studied.*" 

^*  See  p.  41,  note.  Cf.  also:  Erre  a  tant  par  le  pais  Sei 
reponant  cum  hom  fuitiSj  Ben.,  D.  de  Norm.,  II,  5904,  Michel 
(Godefroy). 

""  It  is  hoped  that  the  following  lists  are  correct,  but  the 
diflaculty  of  precise  classification  will  be  readily  understood, 
as  examples  of  usage  contrary  to  that  here  recorded  may 
occur  in  writings  not  studied  for  this  work,  since  only  the 
works  on  which  this  dissertation  is  based,  together  with 
Godefroy's  Dictionnaire,  and  the  glossaries  (with  their  ref- 
erences) of  Bartsch's  Chrestomathie  and  that  of  Constans, 
have  been  consulted  for  the  present  study.     See  pp.  63-69. 


70 


Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 


Verbs  used  reflexivel}^  and  non- 


ahaissier{r) 

acointier  a,  de(r)^ 

acorder  (r) 

acouchier 

adeser 

adoucir 

adrecier  (r)  (to 

turn,  go) 
aerdre 
aferir  (n) 
afiler 

agregier  (n4:,rl) 
ajoster 
(en)  aler 
alumer  {n  3,  r  1) 
amasser 
amender 
angoissier 
apareillier  (r)^ 
apercevoir 
apoiier  (r) 
aprochier 
aproismier 
arester 
ariver  (n) 


assembler 
assener  (n) 
asseoir  (r) 
atargier 
avaler  (n) 
daignier  (n  2,  r 
haissier 
coarder  (n) 
comb  aire  (f) 
consirer  (r) 
contretenir 
copier 
corrocier  (r) 
couchier  (r) 
craindA-e  de  + 

object,  (r) 
crester  (r) 
crever  (n) 
cr  oiler 
cropir 
deduire  (r) 
deg  racier 
delaiier  (n) 
dementer  (r) 
demorer  (n) 


reflexively :  *^ 

departir  (r) 

descendre  {Ujrl) 

descirer 

desclore 

descombrer  (r) 
1)      desevrer  (n) 

desmesurer  (r) 

desperer  (r) 

desver  (n) 

desvoiier 

detrier 

devenir  (n) 

doloir  (r) 

dormir  (n) 

doter  (r) 

emhroncMer  (r) 

empaindre 

empirier  (n) 

encliner 

enflamer  (figura- 
tively) 

engraignier  (n) 

enhardir  (r) 

envoisier 

esbair  (r) 


*^  Verbs  noticeably  more  often  reflexive  or  non-reflexive 
are  indicated  by  a  following  (r)  and  (n)  respectively.  No 
letter  following  shows  that  usage  is  fairly  equally  divided. 
Note  is  made  of  the  number  of  examples  found  of  either 
form  when  it  is  unusual. 

^^  Only  one  example  of  the  non-reflexive  use  has  been 
found.     See  Godefroy. 

"^  Only  two  examples  of  non-reflexive  use  found,  Gr6g. 
101-5;  101,  24. 


The  Pronoun. 


71 


eshanoiier  (r) 
eschaper  (n) 
esclicier   (n)    (to 

break  into 

pieces,  splinter) 
cs  crier 
esforder 
esjo'ir  (r) 
e$movoir  (r) 
espandre 
espanir  (to 

bloom) 
esploitier  (n) 
espo enter  (r) 
esragier  (n) 
essorer 
estanchier 
estendre  (r) 
ester  (n) 
estoner  (r) 
estordre 
estre  (n) 
esveillier  (r) 
faindre  (r) 
(en)  f(nr 
forfaire 
forsener  (n) 
gaher 


garder  (que) 

garnvr  (r) 

gesir  (n) 

guenchir  (n) 

herhergier 

issir 

joer  de  (r) 

joster  (n) 

lander  (r)** 

lasser 

lever  (r)^ 

logier  (r) 

marier  (r)^ 

merveillier  (r) 

mescroire 

mesfaire 

monter  (n) 

morir  (n) 

movoir 

nagier  (n) 

ohlier  (n) 

osteler  (r) 

oster 

paler  (r)  (to  be- 
come recon- 
ciled) 

partvr  (de)  (r) 

pasmer  (r)" 


passer  (r)** 
peder 
penser  (n) 
plaindre  (r) 
plorer  (n) 
porpenser  (r) 
porrir  (n) 
prendre  (n)    (to 

terminate) 
prendre  a  -f- 

verb  (n) 
prendre  esgart  de 
prendre  regart  de 
raler  (n) 
en  raler  (r) 
ralumer  (r)" 
recroire  (n) 
redoter  (r) 
redreder 
relever 
remanoir  (n) 
rememhrer 
removoir  (r) 
remuer  (r) 
renoveler 
repeirier  (with 

en,  r) 
repenser  (r) 


**  Only  one  case  of  non-reflexive  use,  Rol.  2154. 
*'' Reflexive  in  slightly  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  cases 
found. 

*'^  Only  one  case  of  non-reflexive  use,  Clig.  3138. 
"  Only  one  case  of  non-reflexive  use,  Rol.  1348. 
*^  When  not  referring  to  time. 
*^  Only  one  case  of  non-reflexive  use,  St.  Alex.  124e. 


72 


Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 


repondre  (r) 

saner 

tenir  {fig.,  r) 

reposer  (n) 

sejorner  (n) 

torner  {71) 

resaner 

sentir  (r)^ 

traire 

resordre 

seoir  (n) 

travailUer  (r)  (to 

resortir  (to  draw 

sevrer{r) (to 

sep- 

exert  oneself) 

back) 

arate  oneself 

trespasser  (n) 

respasser  (n) 

from) 

trestorner  (n) 

ressoignier 

sofrir  (to  wai 

Lt) 

triholer 

retarder 

solacier 

vanter  de  (r; 

retenir 

sordre  (n) 

en  venir  (r) 

retorner 

taire  (r) 

vestir  (n) 

retraire 

tapi/r 

vestir  de  (r) 

revenir  (with  en, 

tarder 

vvvre  (n) 

_r) 

targier 

en  voler 

rire 

temer  (n) 

Eefiexive  verbs 

(when  the  meaning 

is  reflexive)  : 

ahandoner 

aquiter  de 

conforter 

ahrier 

ar^t^er  (to  hasten) 

contenir 

acheminer 

armer 

en  corre 

acoilUr 

atarder 

crier     (to     sing, 

acoster 

atendre  a  (to 

Auc.  5,  13) 

icoter  (to  alight; 

rely  on) 

croire  de 

to  lie  down) 

atorner 

dehatre  (to  fight, 

agenouilUer 

atropeler 

quarrel) 

aloser  (to  distin- 

avancier 

defendre 

guish  oneself; 

chauffer 

degeter  (to  throw 

to  boast) 

darner  (to   com- 

oneself around) 

amesurer 

plain;  to  < 

3all) 

dehurter 

apenser 

complaindre 

(to 

depaner 

apondre 

complain) 

desarmer 

aprester 

concroire 

desconforter 

^°  Only  one  case  of  non-reflexive  use,  which  may  be  due  to 
coalescence:    Quant  ele  senti  eiihraceej  Gr6g.  9-6. 


The  Pronoun. 

73 

desfigurer 

espaorir 

en  prendre  a 

deshaitier 

esperir  {to  Siwake) 

prendre  garde 

destoldre 

esprover 

quatir 

desvestir  (de) 

estreindre  (to 

racheminer 

detenir 

wrap  oneself 

ragenouillier 

devoUer 

up,  etc.) 

rasseoir 

diverser 

esvertuer 

reclamer  (to  ap- 

drecier 

ferir    (to    strike, 

peal  to,  to  call 

embatre 

speaking  of 

upon) 

emhler 

light,  etc.;  to 

reconforter 

empasser 

throw  oneself) 

reconoistre  (to 

endormir 

fier 

remember) 

engresser 

geter   (to    throw 

repentir  de 

enhastir 

oneself) 

resjo'ir 

en  entrer 

giieitier  (to  gnardi 

revengier  (Ch.  L. 

eshatre 

oneself;  to  ex- 

643) 

esbruire  (to  rush 

pect) 

ruer 

in  alarm) 

hosier 

sofrir  de 

escoilUr  (to  rush) 

loer 

sostenir 

escrevanter 

memhrer  (per- 

tooillier (to  roll, 

(Pass.  250) 

sonal) 

wallow) 

es  freer  " 

metre  (a) 

transmetre     (St. 

eslaissier 

mostrer 

Leg.  86) 

esloignier  (to  go 

noier 

vengier  de 

away) 

prendxre   (a)    (to 

esmaier 

compare     one- 

esmerveillier °^ 

self) 

Non-reflexive  verbs : 

ahelir  (to  please) 

afehlir 

ardoir 

acoisier 

apaisier    (to    be- 

avenir 

acostumer  (per- 

come quiet. 

haaillier 

sonal) 

calm) 

beer 

"  One  example  of 

non-reflexive  use  in 

the  fourteenth  cen- 

tury,  J.  d' Arras,  Melus  (Godefroy). 


74 


Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 


hoivre 

encomender 

froissier 

hrisier 

encroistre 

garir  (to  recover, 

chalemeler 

entendre  a 

to  heal) 

clialoir 

entreprendre    (to 

hurter    (Ch.    L. 

cheoir 

commit  an  er- 

935) 

chevauchier 

ror — Erec 

joer     (not     fol- 

ccmencier^ 

5554) 

lowed    by    the 

condormir  (Pass. 

errer  (to  start,  to 

genitive) 

122) 

travel) 

joindre  a  (to  at- 

conter 

escarteler    (Erec 

tack,  to  join  in 

converser  (to 

977) 

combat) 

stop,  remain) 

esclairier    (refer- 

jo'ir (to  take 

crier  (to  shout) 

ring     to     the 

pleasure  in,  to 

croistre  (to  grow) 

"day-) 

rejoice) 

croistre  (cromsir) 

escouter 

laissier    (to    de- 

cuidier   (to    be- 

escumer 

sist) 

lieve) 

esgarer     (to     go 

laver 

depecier 

astray — Ch.  L. 

luire 

dependre 

771) 

mangier 

desherhergier 

espartir  (to 

memhrer  (imper- 

desteler 

lighten) 

sonal) 

devier 

estenceler 

mentir  " 

durer 

fahloier 

mesavenir 

emhraser 

fausser 

mescheoir 

empUr  (Erec 

fendre 

mesprendre 

4747) 

finer 

metre     a     oevre 

enchanter 

fondre 

(Ch.  L.  1523) 

enchargier     (Ch. 

fraindre 

naistre 

L.  4416) 

fremir 

noter 

"2  An  example  of  the  reflexive  use  occurs  in  the  fourteenth 
century:  ainsi  se  commenga  la  bataille,  Froissart  (Bartsch's 
Chrest.,  431,  8). 

^  The  following  reflexive  use — according  to  Godefroy — 
occurs:  De  tot  se  ment^  Men  le  poez  prover,  Rol.  ms.  Ch§,- 
teauroux,  ccccxiii,  26. 


The  Pronoun. 

75 

noveler 

r assembler     (Ch. 

songier 

ovrir  '* 

L.  6220) 

sortir 

palir 

receter 

sospirer 

parler 

recJieoir 

sovenir 

parvenir 

recomencier 

suer 

passer  (referring 

reluire 

tarir 

to  time) 

resaillir  " 

toner 

percevoir  (not 

resoner 

travaiUier 

followed  by 

rogir 

trembler 

the  genitive) 

rompre 

tresaler      (refer- 

perder 

saillir  (to  spring, 

ring  to  time) 

peser 

jump) 

tressaillir 

plaire  (imper- 

sanglotir 

tressuer 

sonal) 

sechier 

tumer 

plovoir 

senibler  (to  seem) 

valoir 

porparler 

servir  de 

veillier 

quacier    (Ch.    L. 

sifter 

venter 

6129) 

sivre 

vuidier  (to  emp- 

raleiier (Eol. 

sofrir  (to  suffer) 

ty     out,     be- 

3525) 

sorter 

come  empty) 

Occasionally  the  reflexive  pronoun  required  by  the 
second  of  two  dependent  infinitives  is  omitted,  when  the 
first  of  these  verbs  is  not  reflexive.  The  omission  is  thus 
caused  by  the  failure  to  repeat  the  auxiliary,  before 
which  object  pronouns  are  usually  placed : 

Wi  poissent  ansanble  antrer,  N^anmi  la  porte  antran- 
contrer,  Ch.  L.  911. 

Reciprocal  action  is  regularly  denoted  by  reflexive 
verbs  compounded  with  the  preposition  entre.     Some- 

"  Reflexive  in  one  case  in  the  fourteenth  century — with 
Froissart  (see  Godefroy). 

^  Possibly  reflexive  in  the  following,  as  Grodef roy  says : 
II  joint  ses  pies,  se  resaut  ens  la  mer,  Huon  de  Bord.,  5391, 
A.  P. 


76  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

times  the  reflexive  pronoun,  together  with  this  prefix,  is 
omitted :  ^^ 

Puis  fierent  il  nut  a  nut  sor  lor  hroignes,  Eol.  3585; 
Si  fierent  parmi  les  blazons,  Erec  2880. 

G.  After  Prepositions. 

Prepositional  objects  are  often  omitted  in  Old  French. 
Probably  no  omission  of  the  pronoun  standing  for 
things  or  animals  was  felt  after  a  preposition,  for  its 
use  in  this  position  was  rare."'  But  because  of  the  fre- 
quent employment  of  the  personal  object  pronoun,  omis- 
sions of  this  pronoun  are,  with  most  prepositions,  true 
cases  of  ellipsis. 

Ellipses  occur  with  the  following  prepositions : 

Apres:  Li  miens  tote  voie  s'atorne,  De  lui  siure  et 
dealer  apres,  Clig.  4512;  Alez  avant,  j'irai  apres,  ib. 
5596;  Si  tost  s'an  fuit  .  .  .  Et  mes  sire  Yvains  de  ran- 
don  Quanqu^il  puet,  apres  esperone,  Ch.  L.  876 ;  El  droit 
chemin  s'est  anbatuz  Li  chevaliers  mout  sagemant,  Et 
mes  sire  Yvains  folemat  (read  folemant)  Hurte  grant 
aleiire  apres,  ib.  932 ;  Mes  il  les  anchause  de  pres  Et  tuit 
si  conpeignon  apres,  ib.  3259;  Tantost  mes  sire  Yvains 
s^an  part  Et  li  lions  toz  jorz  apres,  ib.  3770. 

Arriere:  Espoir  tost  eschaperiiens.  Car  cil  sont  ancor 
mout  arriere,  Erec  3558. 

Avuec:  Enchalcent  Franc  et  Pemperedre  avoec,  Eol. 
3626. 

''^The  prefix  alone  may  also  be  lacking:  Si  se  conhatent 
une  chaude,  Ch.  L.  6135;  Et  par  po  quHl  ne  s'escervelent,  ib. 
6141;  Si  se  donent  males  groigniees,  ib.  6145;  Que  si  par 
igal  s'anvaissent  Qu'a  .  .  .  ib.  6202. 

^"^  In  the  following  instances  it  is  so  used : 

Marsilies  fait  porter  un  livre  avant  .  .  .  Sor  lui  jurat  li 
Sarrazins  Espans,  Rol.  610;  Li  destriers  est  et  coranz  et 
adates  .  .  .  Beste  nen  est  qui  encontre  lui  alget,  ib.  1651- 
1657;  Si  desgendent  u  sablon  Deles  le  rive.  Aucassins  fu 
desgendus  entre  lui  et  s'amie,  Auc.  27,  18;  et  vint  au  palais 
et  desgendi  entre  lui  et  s'aipie,  ib.  28,  22;  ...  le  fust,  qui 
est  coverz  De  I'escorce,  qui  sor  lui  nest,  Ch.  L.  1034. 


The  Pronoun.  77 

Delez:  Charlemaignes  s'assist  et  sis  ruistes  barnez,  Li 
reis  Hugue  li  Forz  et  sa  moillier  delez^  Pel.  de  Ch.  400 ; 
An  un  lit  le  fist  seul  couchier  .  .  .  An  un  autre  lit  jut 
delez  Enide  ansanble  la  reine,  Erec  4272 ;  Erec  ont  sus 
couchie  anvers  .  .  .  Enide  chevauche  de  lez,  ib.  4732. 

Derriere:  Les  dis  eschieles  Charlon  li  at  mostredes: 
"Vedez  Forgoeil  de  France  la  lodede.  Molt  fierement 
chevalchet  Femperedre,  II  est  deriedre  od  cele  gent  bar- 
bede/^  ""*  Pol.  3314;  Le  prise  par  devant  et  loe  Teus  qui 
derriers  li  f et  la  moe,  Clig.  4549 ;  Une  autel  porte  avoit 
deriere  Come  cele  devant  estoit,  Ch.  L.  956  (  ?). 

Devant:  Puis  si  chevalchet  od  sa  grant  ost  banide. 
Devant  chevalchet  uns  Sarrazins,  Abismes,  Rol.  1630; 
Ferir  la  vost  parmi  le  vis :  Et  cele  a  son  braz  devant  mis, 
Erec  181 ;  Or  venez  petite  anbleiire !  J^irai  devant  grant 
aleiire,  ib.  4189;  Et  li  lions  lez  lui  costoie  .  .  .  Devant 
a  la  voie  s^aquiaut  Tant  qu^il  santi  dessoz  le  vant,  Si 
come  il  s'an  aloit  devant,  Bestes  sauvages  an  pasture, 
Ch.  L.  3412. 

Encontre:  A  grant  honor  encontr'issirent,  Pass.  36; 
Encontre  li  grant  joie  firent.  Sa  feme  est  encontre 
venue,  Greg.  18-22 ;  Encontre  vint  esperonant,  ib.  73-18 ; 
Et  quant  li  rois  les  a  veiies,  Ancontre  se  lieve  an  estant, 
Erec  1680;  Li  dui  anpereor  ansanble,  Quant  il  oirent  la 
novele  De  Cliges  et  de  la  pucele,  Ancontre  vont  a  mout 
grant  joie,  Clig.  3936;  Ancontre  tuit  et  totes  issent,  Et 
la  dame  devant  toz  vient,  Ch.  L.  3300. 

Enmi:  Li-  un  pendirent  a  destre  Li  autre  a  senestre 
Enmi  li  sauveur,  Omnip.  46d. 

Entor:  Car  li  Sesne  estoient  antor,  Qui  le  rescoent  par 
estor,  Clig.  3605 ;  Jhesucrist  estut  E  entur  li  grant  brut 
De  cele  mauveise  gent,  Omnip.  23a;  Si  sun  enemi  .  .  . 
Ust  este  entur,  ib.  79a;  Kar  il  sistrent  entur  Trestuz  e 
Tagarderent,  ib.  86c. 

Environ:  Dis  Chanelieu  chevalchent  environ,  Rol. 
3269 ;  Tuit  sont  venu  a  la  devise,  Li  cuens  et  les  janz  an- 
viron,  Erec  1070;  Anviron  sont  les  janz  venues,  Clig. 

^^  Cf.  Sa  redreguarde  lairrat  deriedre  sei,  Rol.  574. 


78  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

4942;  Vienent  corant  tot  anviron  Ses  voient  antrecon- 
joir,  Ch.  L.  6316. 

H.  Before  a  Repetition  of  the  Pronoun. 
In  a  few  cases  the  pronoun  is  omitted  when  it  occurs 
in  a  following  clause : 

Gregoires  entent  et  bien  Foi*,  Greg.  92-19 ;  Quant  des- 
armez  les  orent  toz,  For  mostrer  a  lor  janz  dessoz,  Les 
ont  as  deffanses  montez/^  Clig.  2159. 

3.  The  Dative  Pronoun. 
Only  the  few  following  examples  of  the  ellipsis  of  the 
dative  pronoun  have  been  found: 

Vedez  m^espede  qui  d^or  est  enheldide,  Si  la  tramist 
li  amiralz  de  Primes,  Eol.  966;  Qu^il  n'i  a  chevalier  si 
buen,  N^estuisse  vuidier  les  argons,  Clig.  1324 ;(?)  So- 
vent  demande  le  conges,  Greg.  44-16. 

In  speaking  of  parts  of  the  body  or  of  wearing 
apparel : 

Entro  taliat  les  piez  dejus,  St.  Leg.  233 ;  Que  Thelme 
[li]  ad  [de]  trenchie,  Gorm.  392;  La  face  .  .  .  fu  tote 
muee,  Greg.  5-23. 

Foerster  is  evidently  in  error  when  he  says :  "  wie  be- 
kannt,  li  ^  ihm  ^  nur  vor  en  (inde)  elidirt  werden  kann,'^^ 
for  this  elision  occurs  occasionally  before  verbs,  estovoir 
in  particular : 

Blans  vestiment  si  Tat  vestit.  Pass.  219 ;  Et  com  Paut 
tolut  lo  quieu  Li  corps  esteret  sovre  Fs  piez,  St.  Leg.  229 ; 
Quant  Charles  veit  que  tuit  li  sont  faillit,  Molt  Fembron- 
chat  et  la  chiere  et  li  vis,  Rol.  3815;  L^uns  Fenseyned, 
beyn  parv  mischin,  De  grec  sermon  et  de  latin,  Alberic 
88 ;  E  tant  cele  chose  maintint,  Qu^une  dancele  Faparsut, 

^^  The  omission  of  the  comma  after  dessoz  would  make  the 
close  relationship  of  the  second  and  third  of  these  verses 
clearer. 

«» Note  to  1.  4165,  in  his  edition  of  Ch.  L.  So  Nyrop,  Gram. 
1,  p.  277. 


The  Pronoun.  79 

Greg.  70-24;  Cil  le  voit  venir,  si  Tescrie.  Quant  Erec 
Fot,  si  le  desfie,  Erec  2859;  Ancor  de  remenoir  Tenor- 
tent,  ib.  4286 ;  Et  mout  le  crieme  et  mout  Fenorte,  Clig. 
3891;  Tot  son  hernois  et  son  ator  Ot  aporte,  si  T  (=  les 
li)  atorna,*"  Ch.  L.  758. 

Si  Festuet  ensi  aler,  Greg.  86-9;  Assez  I'estuet  s^ofrir 
(read  sofrir)  grant  mal,  ib.  87-12;  Que  Testut  morir, 
Eeim.  4f ;  Or  Testuet  morir,  ib.  65f ;  Mult  I'estuet  plorer 
Por  sei  acorder  a  sun  creator,  ib.  82a;  Vuelle  ou  non, 
retorner  Testuet,  Erec  188 ;  Ne  porent  le  roi  retenir,  Ne 
Pestuisse  a  terre  venir,  ib.  2205 ;  Morir  Festut,  ib.  2873 ; 
Car  maintenant  dormir  Testuet,  Clig.  3350 — and  so  very 
often. 

L'  for  the  dative  occurs  enclitically  used  when  a  conso- 
nant follows;  this  is  rare: 

Jesus  li  buons  mot  no-1  sonat,  Pass.  214;  Qo  Tdemon- 
strat  que  se  paiast,  St.  Leg.  110;  Co  Tdemonstrat  amis 
li  fust,  ib.  112. 

4.  Pronoun  en. 

The  use  of  the  pronoun  en  was  much  the  same  in  Old 
French  as  it  is  to-day.  It  was  not,  however,  required  in 
a  clause  in  which  an  adjective  is  used  relating  to  a  pre- 
viously occurring  noun : 

Tenez  mon  helme,  onques  meillor  ne  vi,  Eol.  629 ;  En- 
cui  avrons  un  eschiec  bel  et  gent,  Nuls  reis  de  France 
n'out  onques  si  vaillant,  ib.  1167;  Li  arcevesques  est  molt 
bons  chevaliers;  Nen  at  meillor  en  terre  desoz  ciel,  ib. 
1673 ;  Se  j'ai  parenz,  nen  i  at  nul  si  prot,*""  ib.  2905 ;  Et 

"  Cf.  S'il  viaut  armes,  an  li  atorne,  ib.  3139. 

•*  As  en  is  not  used  in  such  cases  in  the  Roland  more  than 
in  other  poems  (see  1.  629  and  1167  above,  and  1044  and 
2223),  it  would  be  better,  and  more  consistent,  if  n'en  in  the 
following  passages  were  written  as  one  word,  as  it  is  in 
ib.  1673  and  2905  above: 

Tenez  m'espede,  meillor  n'en  at  nuls  horn,  Rol.  620;  Bien 
i  at  or,  matistes  et  jaconces  .  .  .  Vostre  emperedre  si  bones 
n'en  out  onques,  ib.  638;  Deus!  quels  seissante  i  at  en  sa 
compaigne!  Onques  meillors  n'en  out  reis  ne  chataignes, 
ib.  1849. 


80  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

ses  janz  avnec  li  refont  Si  grant  duel,  que  greignor  ne 
pueent,  Ch.  L.  1246;  De  jant  mauveise  avez  vos  mout, 
Mes  ja  n^i  avra  si  estout,  Qui  sor  eheval  monter  an  ost, 
ib.  1633. 

Yet  en  is  sometimes  so  used : 

Qo'st  Lodevis,  meillor  n^en  sai  en  France,  Eol.  3715 
(not  nen,  as  a  consonant  follows) ;  El  chastel  mout  grant 
joie  avoit  De  chevaliers  et  de  puceles;  Car  mout  an  i 
avoit  de  beles,  Erec  348 ;  Tuit  sont  venu  a  la  devise,  Li 
cuens  et  les  janz  anviron,  Les  puceles  et  li  baron.  De  liez 
et  de  maz  an  i  ot,  ib.  1070;  Je  ai  trois  palefroiz  mout 
buens,  Onques  mellors  n'ot  rois  ne  cuens  .  .  .  Wan  a  pas 
un  mellor  del  ver,  ib.  1387 ;  Ainz  avroiz  eii  tant  de  honte, 
Que  plus  n'an  porroiz  avoir,  Ch.  L.  5220. 

The  ellipsis  of  en  occurs  when  referring  to  a  preceding 
noun: 

Sed  alcuns  d'elz  beive  venein,  Non  avrat  mel,  qo  set 
por  veir.  Pass.  461 ;  Nuls  huem  n^est  tant  sages  En  iceste 
vie.  Que  en  sun  ede  Oiist  aconte  La  disme  partie,  Eeim. 
96b;  Si  sai,  se  je  Posoie  dire,  D^anchantemanz  et  de  cha- 
raies  .  .  .  Plus  qu'onques  Medea  ne  sot,  Clig.  3028 ;  Et 
por  ce  que  par  lui  seiist  Li  dus  sa  perte  et  duel  eiist,  ib. 
3811;  Mes  cist  travauz  li  est  delice,  Qu'ele  ne  puet  estre 
lassee,  ib.  4576 ;  Que  covant  manti  li  avoit  Et  trespassez 
estoit  li  termes,  Ch.  L.  2700 ;  Jo  vus  dirrai  un  cunte  .  .  . 
Jo  vus  dirrai  partie,  Kar  tut  ne  pus  jo  mie,  Omnip.  41a ; 
Ki  out  veu  eel  cruelte,  Ne  la  dust  par  pite  Agarder 
surement.  Mes  en  eus  point  n'aveit,  ib.  90a;  E  nepor- 
quant  la  seinte  Cuvint  fere  pleinte,  Kar  tenir  ne  se  poeit, 
ib.  107d. 

En  omitted,  referring  to  a  clause  or  thought  contained 
therein : 

Cum  cele  charn  vidret  morir,  Quel  avret  duol,  no-1  set 
huom  vifs.  Pass.  331;  Assez  est  mielz  que  la  vide  i  per- 
dent.  Que  nos  perdons  clere  Espaigne  la  bele,  Ne  nos 
aions  les  mals  ne  les  sofraites,  Eol.  58;  Quant  go  veit 
Guenes  qu^ore  s'en  rit  EoUanz,  Done  at  tel  doel,  por  poi 


The  Pronoun.  81 

d^ire  ne  fent,  ib.  324 ;  Jo  Focidrai  a  mon  espiet  trenchant, 
Se  Mahomet  me  voelt  estre  guaranz,  ib.  867;  "  Ferat  vos 
ai  .  .  .^^  Eollanz  respont :  "  Jo  n'ai  n'ient  de  mel/^  ib. 
2005 ;  Del  cuer  li  issent  li  sospir,  Quar  ne  se  pot  pas  ab- 
stenir,  Greg.  85-3 ;  ^N'en  ""  estuet  doter :  Kil  vint  delivrer, 
Ceo  fut  Jesucrist,  Eeim.  7d;  "Mangiez,  que  je  vos  an 
semoing."  Cele  respont :  "  Sire,  n^ai  soing,"  Erec  4813 ; 
Mes  Famors  devandra  hai'ne,  Que  j'ai  a  vos,  setirs  soiiez, 
Ch.  L.  2564. 

With  numerals,  when  the  noun  to  which  the  numeral 
relates  is  omitted,  the  ellipsis  of  en  is  very  rare : 

Ja  ne  troverez  une  qui  m'ait  en  charn  tochiet.  Pel.  de 
Ch.  549 ;  Et  Francois  les  esguardent,  n'i  out  un  n'en 
parolt,  ib.  812;  Mais  non  i  ab  un  plus  valent  De  chest 
dun  faz  Talevament,  Alberic  23. 

But  when  the  article  accompanies  the  numeral,  the 
omission  is  of  regular  occurrence :  ** 

Veant  moi  a  les  deus  ocis,  Et  demain  ocirra  les  quatre, 
Ch.  L.  3866. 

Occasionally  the  omission  of  the  pronoun  seems  to  be 
due  to  its  use  in  a  following  clause : 

Tant  atandrai  qu^il  s'apargoive,  Se  ja  s^an  doit  apar- 
cevoir,  Clig.  1016;  Cliges  ot  Tenor  et  le  pris,  Et  li  Greu 
mout  grant  joie  an  orent,  ib.  4184;  se  je  li  pooie  dire, 
par  quoi  il  ne  s^aparceiisgent,  et  qu'ele  s^en  gardast,  Auc. 
14,  30. 

5.  The  Demonstrative  Pronoun  cil. 

Cilj  in  its  various  forms,  is  not  usually  employed  with 
qui  when  referring  to  no  particular  person  or  persons, 
though  examples  of  its  use  are  not  wanting. 

^'Not  N'en.     Text  B  reads:     Ne  nestot  duter;  Text  C: 
Nient  nestot  duter. 
•*  Lotz,  p.  22. 
6 


92  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

Omitted  in  the  nominative:'^ 

Molt  bien  espleitet  cui  damnes  Deiis  aitidet!  Eol. 
3657;  Qui  an  la  meison  estoit,  Mont  pooit  grant  joie 
veoir,  Erec  1300;  Qui  mellor  quiert,  ne  set  qu'il  viaut, 
ib.  1399;  Que  bien  est  an  prison,  qui  aimme,  Ch.  L. 
1942 ;  Car  mout  est  fos,  qui  se  demore,  ib.  2135. 

Omitted  in  the  accusative :  °°  , 

Deus  aimet  forment  Qui  bien  se  repent,  Eeim.  74a; 
Toz  sens  s'an  yint  au  chief  del  ranc  Por  joster,  se  il 
trueve  a  cui,  Erec  2172;  Ne  je  ne  truis,  qui  m'an  def- 
fande,  Ch.  L.  3605 ;  Se  je  ne  truis,  qui  s^ost  conbatre,  ib. 
3868;  S^onques  an  ta  vie  trovas,  Qui  te  feist  honte  ne 
let  .  .  .  ib.  5132. 

Cil,  referring  to  some  particular  person  or  persons,  is 
generally  used  when  qui  occurs." 
Cil  not  used  in  the  nominative: 

Quar  anc  non  fut  nulz  huom  charnels.  En  eel  enfern 
non  fust  alez.  Usque  qui  sens  pechiet  venist  Comune  lei 
por  toz  solsist,  Pass.  381;  Qui  Pout  portet  volentiers  le 
nodrit,  St.  Alex.  7b;  Anuit  m^avint  une  avison  d^un 

»"  Examples  of  its  use  are : 

Merveillos  tort  at  Cil  qui  aveir  at,  Reim.  53a;  Depecier  et 
corronpre  suelent  Cil  qui  de  conter  vivre  vuelent,  Erec  21; 
Et  cil  est  a  son  avoir  sers,  Qui  toz  jorz  le  garde  et  acroist, 
Clig.  164;  Tot  aussi  con  cil  plus  se  cuist,  Qui  au  feu 
s*aproche  et  acoste,  Que  cil  qui  arriers  s'an  oste,  ib.  598. 

*^  Examples  of  its  use  are: 

N'i  at  celui  qui  mot  sont  ne  mot  tint,  Rol.  411;  Cel  n'en 
i  at  qui  ne  s'escrit  .  .  .  ib.  1618;  Car  qui  tost  va  la  droite 
voie.  Passe  celui  qui  se  desvoie,  Erec  5577;  Et  gaus  puet  Tan 
nices  clamer,  Qui  cuident  que  les  vuelle  amer,  Quant  une 
dame  .  .  .  Ch.  L.  2459. 

"^  Examples : 

In  the  nominative:  Et  cil,  qui  iert  a  mort  plaiiez,  Li  es- 
chapa,  Ch.  L.  954;  Et  cil,  cui  il  estoit  mestiers,  Manja,  ib. 
1053;  Qu'ancore  estoit  leanz  sanz  faille  Cil,  qui  feite  avoit 
la  bataille,  ib.  1183. 

In  the  accusative:  Quant  vit  celui,  qui  nuz  estoit  .  .  . 
Ch.  L.  2832;  Por  po  que  li  prodon  n'esrage,  Quant  ot  celui, 
qui  .  .  .  ib.  4125. 


The  Pronoun.  83 

angele,  Qu'entre  mes  poinz  me  depegout  ma  hanste  Qui 
at  jugiet  Eollant  a  redreguarde,  Eol.  836;  Kil  vint 
delivrer,  Ceo  fut  Jesiicrist^  Eeim.  7e ;  Si  ont  anquis  et 
demande,  Qui  est  qui  ce  li  avoit  fet,  Clig.  6494. 

No  omission  of  this  pronoun  in  the  accusative,  before 
quij  has  been  found. 

In  the  dative  the  omission  is  rare : 

Et  com  ?aut  duit  de  cele  art,  Eendit  lo  qui  lui  I'co- 
mandat,"*  St.  Leg.  25. 

When  not  accompanied  by  qui,  cil  is  seldom  omitted : 

Tel  noise  et  del  fraint  demenoit  Uns  seus  chevaliers, 
Ch.  L.  481 ;  Onques  teus  oz  ne  fu  veiie  Con  li  rois  Artus 
assanble,  ib.  1094. 

6.  The  Demonstrative  Pronoun  ce. 

Ce,  followed  by  que,  when  both  are  in  the  accusative 
case,  is  not  required  in  Old  French :  Qui  mellor  quiert, 
ne  set  qu'il  viaut,  Erec  1399.  In  the  works  considered, 
taken  as  a  whole,  the  use  of  the  pronoun  is  found  slightly 
more  than  its  omission. 

With  the  nominative  qui,  que,  the  accusative  ce  is  more 
often  omitted  than  employed : 

Et  li  prie,  s'il  fet  a  dire,  Que  li  die,  qui  la  fet  rire, 
Clig.  1573;  Mes  teus  cuide  mout  tost  venir.  Qui  ne  set 
qu^est  a  avenir,  Ch.  L.  2587. 

With  both  the  nominative  qui  and  the  accusative  que, 
ce  in  the  nominative  is  regularly  employed.  An  excep- 
tion is  seen  in  Clig.  3074, 

Et  se  maus  puet  estre,  qui  pleise,  Mes  enuiz  est  ma 
volantez. 

•^Cf.  Qu'il  doint  I'enor  de  la  bataille  Celui  qui  por  li  se 
travaille,  Erec  893;  S'a  la  chemise  presantee  Celui  cui  ele 
mout  agree,  Clig.  1187. 


84  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

When  reference  is  made  to  an  entire  clause,  ce  is  used 
more  frequently  than  omitted.  The  omission  occurs  in 
the  following: 

Dona,  que  droiz  fu,  chapes  noires,  Erec  6538. 

After  a  preposition,  before  que,  ce  is  very  rarely 
omitted : 

Batiziez  la,  por  que  Deus  en  ait  I'anme,  Eol.  3981 ;  Li 
pechere  ne  se  oblia  De  que  li  abes  comanda,  Greg.  39-15; 
Por  beneis  qui  m'as  garie  Por  que  de  joie  m^as  saisie,  ib. 
114-15. 

With  dont,  ce  is  used  when  the  sense  requires  it,  as  in 
Modem  French.  There  are  a  few  examples  of  its 
omission : 

Que  n^ai  don  me  puisse  defandre,  Erec  3848 ;  Qui  que 
parot,  mout  li  est  tart  Que  il  voie  et  sache  et  conoisse 
Don  il  sont  tuit  an  tel  angoisse,  ib.  5726;  Mes  tens  cuide 
feire  son  preu  .  .  .  Qui  porchace  don  il  se  diaut,  Clig. 
640;  Ja  ne  diroit,  don  cil  joi'st,  ib.  4556;  Se  je  te  doing, 
don  miauz  te  vives !  Ch.  L.  5979."'* 

The  ellipsis  of  ce  governed  by  empres  and  apres  is  not 
unusual.  These  prepositions,  in  the  temporal  sense,  were 
in  the  process  of  becoming  adverbs,  meaning  "  after- 
ward,^^ "  then.'^    Examples  of  this  omission  of  ce  are : 

Apres  parlat  ses  filz  envers  Marsilie,  Eol.  495;  Ne 
demora  gueires  apres  Que  recomanga  tot  ades  La  guerre, 
Greg.  57-21;  Idons  se  paume  maintenant.  Apres  en 
vint  al  lit  corant,  ib.  72-24 ;  Grant  piece  apres  li  a  randu 
La  dameisele  son  salut,  Erec  6235. 

It  may  seem  at  first  that  apres  is  here  purely  an  ad- 
verb.    That  such  was  not,  however,  the  feeling  of  the 

*^  There  is  no  ellipsis  of  ce  with  dont  followed  by  an  in- 
finitive, for  in  that  case  Old  French  did  not  require  the 
pronoun. 


The  Pronoun.  85 

period  is  shown  by  the  frequent  use  of  the  pronoun  in 
similar  instances.  For  one  who  inclines  toward  the 
theory  of  the  adverbial  use  of  this  preposition,  the  omis- 
sion of  the  pronoun  in  the  first  two  of  the  following  ex- 
amples would  almost  certainly  give  this  value  to  apres: 

Mais,  ce  ne  sai-je  dire  pas,  De  quel  pais  fu  icil  las,  Ne 
que  par  apres  ce  devint  Ne  que  veie  des  iluec  tint,  Greg. 
50-22;  Fiz  fu  d^une  suer  e  d^un  frere  E  apres  se  (=  ce) 
fu  ses  mariz,  ib.  112-14;  E  apres  ce  demaintenant  Si 
(—  si  i)  mist  dou  eel,  ib.  22-(S;  Apres  ce  me  pria  .  .  . 
Ch.  L.  262 ;  Et  apres  ce  le  roi  pria  .  .  .  ib.  2302. 

Old  French  used  the  demonstrative  pronoun  to  a  much 
greater  extent  than  is  true  of  present  usage.  It  was 
more  customary  in  the  earliest  period  in  such  sentences 
as  the  following: 

"  Par  ma  feit!  ^^  (sc.  go)  dist  li  reis,  "  Charles  at  fait 
folie,^'  P^l.  de  Ch.  629;  "Sire/'  (sc.  go)  dist  Charle- 
maignes,  "herseir  nos  herberjastes/'  ib.  652;  Charles 
respont :  Molt  grant  viltet  (sc.  go)  me  semblet,  Eol.  3595. 

7.  The  Eelative  Pronoun. 

Qui  is  very  often  omitted  when  introducing  a  negative 
clause  dependent  on  a  statement  of  general  negation : 

Et  Franceis  les  esguardent,  n'i  out  un  n'en  parolt.  Pel. 
de  Ch.  812 ;  Wi  at  paiien  nel  prist  et  ne  Padort,  Eol.  854. 

Less  frequently  found,  though  not  rare,  is  the  omis- 
sion of  qui  introducing  an  affirmative  clause  dependent 
on  a  statement  of  general  negation : 

Soz  ciel  n'at  rei  plus  en  ait  de  meillors,  Eol.  1442 ;  Soz 
ciel  n'at  gent  Tosast  requerre  en  champ,  ib.  1782. 

The  same  is  true  of  qui  introducing  a  negative  clause 
dependent  on  a  statement  of  general  affirmation : 

Mais  tot  seit  fel  chier  ne  se  vendet  primes,  Eol.  1924. 


86  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

Qui  is  least  frequently  omitted  when  both  the  depend- 
ent and  principal  clauses  are  affirmative : 

Car  m^eslisez  nn  baron  de  ma  marche,  Marsilion  me 
portast  mon  message,  Eol.  275. 

Qui  may  stand  in  place  of  qui  que: 

Et  qui  viaut  enor  guehaignier,  A  gaus  se  doit  acon- 
paignier,  Clig.  4257;  Mes  qui  li  dona  cest  consoil.  .  .  . 
Ne  me  poist  miauz  acorer,  ib.  4476. 

This  pronoun  is  not  infrequently  used  in  the  sense  of 
the  English  colloquial  "  whoever  ^'  ("  it  does  not  matter 
who  ''),  or  "  if  anyone  '' — i.  e.,  without  an  antecedent:  "*" 

Et  qui  le  voir  dire  an  voldroit,  Deus  se  retient  devers 
le  droit,  Ch.  L.  4443. 

At  least  in  the  works  examined,  occurrences  of  this 
sort  are  easily  explainable  through  a  freedom  of  use  of 
the  indefinite  qui,  like  the  corresponding  English  word. 
Thus,  in  Erec  6325,  d'enui  croist  son  conte  Qui  deus  foiz 
une  chose  conte,  it  is  a  short  step  from  saying :  Whoever 
relates  a  thing  twice  renders  his  tale  wearisome,  to  the 
form:  Whoever  relates  a  thing  twice,  his  tale  becomes 
wearisome,  while  the  theory  "  that  the  latter  construction 
resulted  from  an  ellipsis  encounters,  in  addition  to  the 
naturalness  of  the  extended  use  of  this  word,  two  prin- 
cipal obstacles:  (1)  the  subjunctive,  as  would  be  ex- 
pected, follows  s'est  qui  ...  in  most  cases.  If  this  use 
of  qui,  then,  is  due  to  the  omission  of  s'est,  this  mood 
would,  no  doubt,  be  found  in  some  instances  after  the 
simple  qui,  but  no  examples  of  this  have  been  discov- 

'•>  Cf.  p.  81. 

"^Romania,  1907,  pp.  134-5,  reads:  Das  heziehungslose 
Relativum.  La  construction  **  qui  o  soi  la  porte,  n'est  pas 
desloiaut^ "  est  expliqu6e  {Romanische  Forschungen,  xvi, 
398,  L.  Jordan — q.  v.)  par  I'ellipse  d'une  proposition  con- 
ditionelle  impersonelle:    "  s'est  qui  o  soi,  etc." 


The  Pronoun.  87 

ered";  (2)  the  extended  use  is  often  iinqnestionable,  as 
well  when  soit  occurs, 

Seit  qui  Tocidet,  tuit  paiz  puis  avriomes,  Eol.  391; 
Soit  qui  vos  pregne  je  sui  pres  de  doner,  Raoul  C.  5798," 
as  when  qui  qiie  is  used,  as  is  often  the  case : 

Cui  que  seit  dols,  a  nostre  os  est  il  goie,  St.  Alex.  101c; 
Qui  ques  rapelt,  ja  n^en  retorneront,  Kol.  1912;  Cui  que 
tomer  doie  a  enui,  Ja  cist  espreviers  vostre  n^iert,  Erec 
820;  Car  bien  est  droiz,  cui  qu'il  soit  let,  Que  ceste  da- 
meisele  Tet,  ib.  845;  Mes  qui  qu'an  soit  liez  et  joianz, 
Mes  sire  Yvains  en  fu  dolanz,  Ch.  L.  677;  Et  qui  que 
remaingne  a  sejor,  II  (=  Yvains)  viaut  estre  jusqu'a 
tierz  jorz,  ib.  695. 

NON-REPETITION  OF  THE  PRONOUN. 

1.  The  Accusative  Pronoun. 

A. 

It  is  customary  for  a  pronoun  to  stand  as  object  to 
both  verbs  of  a  compound  predicate  without  being  re- 
peated :  '* 

II  les  asolst  et  pardonat,  St.  Leg.  226 ;  Qui  la  gart  an 
pes  et  maintaigne,  Clig.  428;  Li  autre  (jugent)  qu^an 
les  pande  ou  arde,  ib.  1441 ;  Ses  anvaissent  et  requirent, 

"Except,  of  course,  when  this  mood  is  required  for  other 
reasons,  as,  when  replacing  the  pluperfect  indicative,  the 
imperfect  of  the  subjunctive  is  used:  Qui  It  o'ist  les  dens 
ensamhle  marteler — ./.  martel  sor  Venglume  ne  feist  noise 
tel,  Qui  de  Bourg.  1701  (see  following  note). 

"  Quoted  by  L.  Jordan. 

'*See  Tobler,  V.  B.  1,  92  (article  15).  This  is  clearly 
demonstrated  by  the  non-repetition  of  the  pronoun  when 
the  negative  adverb  is  repeated,  contrary  to  the  rule  that 
both  the  adverb  and  a  pronoun,  preceding  a  verb,  are  not 
repeated  before  a  second  verb:  Si  quHl  nel  tlesce  ne  ne 
quasse,  Clig.  5615.  Compare  this  with  the  following,  which 
might  well  have  been  made  to  read  the  same:  Si  quHl  ne  le 
tlesce  ne  quasse,  ib.  714. 


88  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

ib.  1893 ;  Si  le  requiert  et  anvaist,  ib.  1425 ;  Mes  li  fains 
Fangoisse  et  esforce,  Ch.  L.  2852. 

The  omission  in  coordinate  clauses  is  less  general : 

Quant  jol  vos  dis,  compaing,  yos  ne  deignastes,  Rol. 
1716;  Dit  le  vos  ai,  et  di  ancore,  Erec  3005. 

It  is  curious  that  s  {les),  in  the  following  passage,  is, 
in  the  first  verse,  the  object  of  the  dependent  verb,  ferir, 
and,  in  the  second,  that  of  the  principal  verb,  veoir: 

Las  me  verrez  ensemble  par  tel  vertut  ferir,  Et  voler 
contre  mont,  si  m^escrierai  si,  Que  .  .  .  Pel.  de  Ch.  595. 

Occasionally  the  pronoun  is  not  repeated  in  the  un- 
stressed form  after  being  used  as  a  stressed  pronoun : 

Charles,  por  quel  gabastes  de  mei  et  escharnistes  ? " 
Pel.  de  Ch.  643. 

B. 

An  interesting  ellipsis  occurs  when  a  pronoun  in  the 
dative  case  is  not  repeated  in  the  accusative :  ^" 

Et  lui  aidiez,  et  por  seignor  tenez,  Ex)l.  364;  Truisque 
sil  li  vieigne  aidier  E  de  ses  enemis  vengier,  Greg.  33-3 ; 
Enclina  li  parfondement.  Puis  salua  doceement,  ib.  56-1 ; 
Se  tu  or  androit  a  tes  mains  Me  devoies  les  iauz  sachier 
Ou  trestote  vive  escorchier,  Erec  4850;  Et  je  venoie  a 
grant  besoing  Por  li  eidier  et  delivrer,  ib.  5076 ;  Puis  lor 
a  dit  et  conjure  L^anperere  que  voir  an  d'ient,  Clig.  5758 ; 
Qu^amors  li  enorte  et  semont,  ib.  6191 ;  Mes  la  dameisele 
repeire,  Qui  li  viaut  conpeignie  feire  Et  solacier  et  de- 
porter,  Et  porchacier  et  aporter,  Quanqu^il  voldra,  a  sa 
devise,  Ch.  L.  1541. 

"  It  may  be  the  stressed  pronoun  which  is  omitted  in  this 
case,  for  this  form  was  more  freely  used  in  the  earlier 
poems.    See  end  of  note,  p.  41. 

''  See  Tobler,  Oott.  Gel.  Anz.  1875,  p.  1071,  and  V.  B.  1,  92- 
93  (article  15);  Etienne,  Gram.,  p.  212. 


The  Pronoun.  89 

C. 

The  reflexive  pronouii  is  ordinarily  not  repeated  be- 
fore each  verb  to  which  it  refers : 

Si  demora  tant  delez  li  Qu^il  s^oblia  et  andormi,  Ch. 
L.  51;  II  se  detort  et  grate,  ib.  3511;  Si  se  herice  et 
creste  ansanble,  ib.  5531;  S^esmervoillent  et  esbaissent, 
ib.  G201. 

The  unstressed  reflexive  pronoun  te,  following  the  ap- 
pearance of  tei  as  object  to  a  preposition,  is  omitted  in 
Greg.  28-10, 

En  tei  deis  prendre  grant  porpens  E  contenir  en  itel 
guise  Que  il  ne  tort  a  vilenie. 

2.  The  Dative  Pronoim. 

A. 

The  non-repetition  of  the  dative  pronoun  is  far  from 
being  unusual : 

II  Qo  li  dist  e  adunat,  St.  Leg.  9;  Uescu  li  ad  frait  e 
malmis,  Uhauberc  desmaela  e  malmist,  Gorm.  456 ;  Et  si 
li  dit  bien  et  afiche  .  .  .  Clig.  2216 ;  Qui  son  cuer  li  for- 
tret  et  tot,  ib.  5091 ;  Et  mout  li  plot  et  abeli,  Ch.  L.  5927. 

In  the  following  quotation,  li,  understood  before  the 
second  verb  (==to  her),  is  different  in  meaning  from 
the  dative  pronoun  expressed  before  the  first  (=  for 
her)  : 

II  li  (=  le  li)  ont  quis  e  aporte,  Greg.  21-21. 

The  stressed  dative  pronoun  lui  is  omitted  with  the 
preposition,  following  the  use  of  the  stressed  form  of 
the  accusative  pronoun  lui,  in, 

Por  lui  leidir  et  feire  honte,  Ch.  L.  5574. 

One  example  has  been  found  of  the  omission  of  the 
unstressed  dative  pronoun  when  the  stressed  accusative 


90  Ellipsis  in"  Old  French. 

form  precedes,  but  the  pronoun,  being  vos,  would  not 
alter  in  form : 

Onques  voir  tant  ne  s^avilla,  Qu'il  deist  de  vos  vilenie 
Tant  come  il  a  fet  corteisie,  Ch.  L.  2212. 

B. 

There  are  a  few  examples  in  which  a  pronoun  in  the 
accusative  is  not  repeated  in  the  dative  case :  '^ 

Qui  la  menace  mout  et  chose  Et  comande  qu'ele  se 
teise,  Erec  3724;  Si  la  rebeise  et  fet  grant  Joie,  ib.  6465 ; 
Mout  doucemant  les  aparolent  Et  font  joie  si  com  il 
durent,  ib.  6592 ;  Nus  ne  le  puet  conforter  Ne  nul  bon 
consel  doner,  Auc.  7,  4 ;  ves  ci  vostre  anemi  qui  tant  vous 
a  guerroie  et  mal  fait,  ib.  10,  38;  Et  la  dame  toz  les 
semont  Et  prie  qu^ancontre  lui  voisent,  Ch.  L.  2324 ;  Que 
pitiez  Vi  semont  et  prie  Qu^il  face  secors  et  aie,  A  la 
beste,  ib.  3373;  Meismes  la  fille  au  seignor  Le  sert  et 
porte  grant  enor,  ib.  5411;  Li  evesche  del  pais  L^ad  a 
resun  mis  E  demande  suvent  .  .  .  Omnip.  23d. 

It  would  be  more  grammatical  if  the  pronouns  in  the 
accusative,  in  the  following  passages,  were  repeated  as 
datives,  for  the  verb  faire  generally  ^*  requires  the  dative 
of  the  pronoun  when  a  transitive  verb  is  dependent  on  it : 

II  les  fait  revestir  et  chapes  afubler.  Pel.  de  Ch.  143 ; 
Demain  la  (t.  e.  Teve)  ferai  eissir  de  son  chenel,  Es- 
pandre  par  cez  chans,  que  vos  tuit  le  verrez,  Toz  les 
celiers  emplir  qui  sont  en  la  citet.  La  gent  le  rei  Hugon 
et  moillier  et  guaer,  En  la  plus  halte  tor  lui  meisme 
monter,  ib.  556. 

""  See  Tobler,  V.  B.  1,  92-93  (article  15) ;  Tobler,  Oott.  Oel 
Anz.  1875,  p.  1071;  Ebering,  Zts.  f.  r.  Ph.  5,  364;  Etienne, 
Gram.,  p.  212. 

'*  Examples  of  exceptions  are:  Les  feisoient  U  escu  croire 
Que  ceste  mangonge  fust  voire,  Clig.  2105;  Ne  ja  amer  ne 
la  feist  Autrui  se  lui  meisme  non,  Ch.  L.  5378. 


The  Pronoun:  91 

3.  The  Pronoun  en. 

Like  the  non-repetition  of  the  accusative  and  dative 
pronouns,  that  of  en  is  not  a  rare  ellipsis : 

Ne  poet  muder  n'en  plort  et  ne  sospirt,  Eol.  2381 ;  C'il 
(i.  e.  Cil)  est  mi  fiz  de  mon  frere.  Tote  en  sui  certe,  rien 
ne  dot,  Greg.  78-20;  Tuit  an  consoillent  et  parolent,  Erec 
5503;  Erec  an  pesa  plus  assez  Qu'il  ne  mostra  sanblant 
as  janz,  ib.  6524;  Tant  en  ocient  et  estaingnent,  Clig. 
1952;  Tote  I'oz  an  fremist  et  bruit,  ib.  3966. 

Other  pronouns  are  not  repeated  when  this  ellipsis  of 
en  occurs : 

Si  Tan  enuie  et  poise,  Clig.  3273;  Et  les  escuz  (ont) 
dehachiez  toz  .  .  .  Si  que  les  pieces  an  depandent,  N'il 
ne  s'an  cuevrent  ne  deffandent,  Ch.  L.  827. 

4.  The  Demonstrative  Pronouns  cil  and  ce. 
The  demonstrative  pronouns  need  not  be  repeated : 

Ceus  ke  alerent  devant,  E  ke  vindrent  suant  .  .  . 
Omnip.  94a ;  Ce  qu'ele  plore  et  qu'ele  list,  Vossist  qu^ele 
leissie  eust,  Ch.  L.  1420. 

5.  The  Eelative  Pronoun. 

The  repetition  of  qui  at  the  beginning  of  each  clause 
which  it  introduces  is  required  in  Old  French,  but  such 
an  omission  is  not  one  of  the  rare  ellipses : 

Molt  est  pesmes  Eollanz,  Qui  tote  gent  voelt  faire 
recredant,  Et  totes  terres  met  en  chalengement,  Eol.  392 ; 
Veire  paterne,  qui  onques  ne  mentis,  Saint  Lazaron  de 
mort  resurrexis,  Et  Daniel  des  Icons  guaresis,  Guaris  de 
mei  Tanme  de  toz  perilz,  ib.  2384;  Car  li  real  lor  con- 
tredi'ent  Qui  mout  fieremant  les  desfient  Et  la  traison 
lor  reprochent,  Clig.  1745;  Dame,  qui  cuideroit  trover 
Celui,  qui  le  jaiant  ocist  Et  les  trois  chevaliers  conquist, 
II  le  feroit  buen  aler  querre,  Ch.  L.  6602. 


92  Ellipsis  m  Old  French. 

The  relative  que  of  qui  que  is  found  unrepeated : 

Mes  qui  que  venist  ne  qui  non,  Erec  6570 ;  Mes  qui  que 
vaingne  ne  qui  voise,  Ch.  L.  1063. 

The  non-repetition  of  the  relative  pronoun  in  a  dif- 
ferent  case   from   that   which   precedes/''   occurs   more 
rarely : 
ISTominative  pronoun  omitted  replacing  the  accusative : 

Qo  dit  la  geste  et  cil  qui  el  champ  fut;,  Li  her  sainz 
Gilies,  por  cui  Deus  fait  vertuz ;  Et  fist  la  chartre  el  mos- 
tier  de  Lodun,^  Rol.  2095. 
Accusative  pronoun  omitted  replacing  the  nominative: 

Ceste  est  et  de  cors  et  de  vis  .  .  .  La  plus  jantis  et  la 
plus  bele  Qui  soit  jusque  la,  ce  me  sanble,  Ou  li  ciaus  et 
la  terre  assanble,  Erec  1782. 

'»  See  Tobler,  V.  B.  1,  93  (article  15). 

^°  Since  this  is  evidently  the  meaning  of  the  sentence,  the 
semicolon  after  vertuz  might  better  have  been  a  comma. 


CHAPTEK  VI. 

The  Verb. 

The  verb  is  essential  in  thought  to  every  sentence. 
Nevertheless  it  is  often  not  expressed,  as  the  meaning 
may  be  conveyed  without  it.  This  is  true  of  the  follow- 
ing verbs : 

Aler:  Or  del  bien  feire  et  del  cerchier  Et  sus  et  jus  et 
pres  et  loing!  Clig.  6650;  Biaus  sire,  or  avant!  Ch.  L. 
4669 ;  Or  avant,  bele,  ib.  5933. 

This  seems  most  probably  the  omitted  verb  in. 

Baron  franceis,  as  chevals  et  as  armes,  Eol.  2986. 

Aporter:  Qa  mes  armes  et  mon  cheval !  Ch.  L.  4145. 

Clamer:  Deus !  meie  colpe  vers  les  toes  vertuz,  Kol. 
2369. 

Corir:  Si  s'antrevienent  d'un  eslais  Plus  tost  que  cers 
qui  ot  les  glais  Des  chiens  qui  apres  lui  glatissent,  Clig. 
4931. 

Crier:  In  the  following  passage  from  St.  Alex.,  and 
in  others  similar  to  it,  either  vostre  is  omitted  as  well  as 
the  verb  crier,  or  the  verb  avoir  is  to  be  supplied : 

Seinors  de  Rome,  por  amor  Deu,  mercit,  1.  93a;  "Or 
me  le  dites,  .  .  .  Se  vos  de  rien  ne  mesfeistes.  Quant  vos 
mon  seignor  oceistes?^^  "Dame,^^  fet  il,  "vostre 
merci,'' '  Ch.  L.  1995. 

Dire\'  "  Onques  mes,''  fet  il,  "n'oi  tel/'  Erec  3251; 
Si  grant  felunie  Unkes  ne  fu  oie  En  geste  n'en  chaungun, 
Omnip.  71a. 

^  Crier  is  often  expressed  with  merci:  Aussi  con  por  merci 
crier,  Ch.  L.  351;  Dame,  ja  voir  ne  crierai  Merci,  ib.  1975. 

^  Dire  is  required  with  oir  in  the  sense  of  the  Modern 
French  entendre  dire: 

Quant  par  la  terre  oirent  dire  Que  d'Aquitaine  iert  mors 
li  sire,  Gr6g.  31-13;  S'est  ja  tant  dit  et  poploii6  Que  nes  icele 
dire  I'ot,  Clig.  2978;  N'iert  eschapez,  que  il  seiissent  Ne 
qu'il  oi  dire  Teiissent,  Ch.  L.  573. 


94  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

Estre:  E  vint  a  Eome  quant  ele  pot  La  o  ele  l^Apos- 
toile  sot/  Greg.  112-21;  (est)  Granz  folcs  ariedre,  granz 
davant :  Grand  e  petit  Den  vont  landant,  Pass.  45 ;  Ahi ! 
con  vaillant  chevalier!  Ch.  L.  3199;  (sont)  Com  felix 
eel  qui  par  feit  Fhonorerent !  St.  Alex.  lOOe;  (sett) 
Felix  li  lius  on  ses  sainz  cors  herberget!  ib.  114e;  La 
main  destre  leva  adonques  La  dame  et  dist :  Trestot  einsi 
Con  tu  Pas  dit,  et  je  t'otroi  .  .  .  Ch.  L.  6650;  (sera) 
E  bien  e  mal  puis  recevron,  Selonc  le  fait  le  gueredon, 
Greg.  82-7;  (fzc)  A  poi  de  duel  que  ne  morut,  Greg. 
72-20  (and  often  the  verb  in  the  present  tense  is  omitted 
with  a  poi,  a  bien  pres:  A  poi  le  cuer  ne  li  part  d'ire,  ib. 
12-14;  A  bien  pres  que  des  oilz  ne  plore,  ib.  75-4) ;  Ainz 
vint  poignant  tot  a  relais  De  ci  que  devant  le  palais/ 
ib.  74-9. 

Often  the  verb — probably  estre — is  omitted  with  the 
phrase  a  (vostre)  comant: 

(suis)  "  Volentiers/'  dist  il,  "  sire,  tot  al  vo<stre  co- 
mant," Pel.  de  Ch.  470;  (somes)  "  En  Rencesvals  irez  as 
porz  passant,  Si  aiderez  a  conduire  ma  gent."  Et  oil 
respondent :  "  Sire,  a  vostre  comant,"  Eol.  944. 

Probably  estre,  in  the  subjunctive,  is  understood  before 
a  vostre  plaisir  ("  be  it  at  your  pleasure,  as  you  please  ")  : 

Erec  respont :  "  I^eissiez  m'an  pes !  Nel  f  eroie  an  nule 
meniere."  Cil  voit  n'i  a  mestier  proiiere,  Si  dist :  "  Sire, 
a  vostre  pleisir !  Or  nos  an  poons  bien  teisir,"  Erec  1284. 

The  expression  goes  a  step  farther  from  the  complete 
form  when  the  preposition  is  dropped : 

"  Mes  vostre  non  savoir  desir."  ^^  Sire,"  f et  il,  "  vostre 
pleisir.  Quant  vos  mon  non  savoir  volez,  ISTe  vos  doit  pas 
estre  celez,"  Erec  4513. 

'This  omission  with  savoir  regularly  occurs: 
Mes   tant   sevent   de  fier   corage   Le   roi  .  .  .  Clig.   1653; 
Tant  con  celui  vivant  savra,  ib.  3450;  Mes  nel  set  pas  si  pres 
de  li,  ib.  3763;  Et  tant  vos  resai  de  fier  cuer  .  .  .  ib.  3989. 
*  Possibly  vint  is  the  omitted  verb;  see  ellipsis  of  venir 


The  Verb.  95 

Faire:  Quant  dedenz  avez  lit  assez  Ne  sei  que  deit, 
mais  puis  plorez,  Greg.  77-1. 

Monter:  Or  as  chevaus  por  lui  secorre !  Clig.  3549. 

Parler:  Quant  chascun  dels  enfans  entent  Del  bon 
conceil,  plore  forment,  Greg.  17-23. 

Recevoir:  Je  Fotrei,  Sire,  grez  e  mercis  de  mei,  Greg. 
84-11. 

Venir.  Not  infrequently  omitted  with  jusque  {en- 
tresque)  : ' 

Entresqu'ad  Ais  ne  volt  prendre  sojorn,  Eol.  3696; 
Jusqu'au  tref  le  roi  ne  recroient,  Clig.  2194;  Jusqu'a 
I'anpereor  ne  fine,  ib.  2479;  Jusqu'a  Coloingne  ne 
s'areste,  ib.  2699;  Li  dui  anpereor  cheminent,  Jusque 
outre  Eeneborc  ne  finent,  ib.  3395 ;  Ja  cist  afeires  n^iert 
contez  Jusque  devant  Fanpereor,  ijb.  6498. 

Voter:  Vint  plus  tost  qu^uns  alerions,  Ch.  L.  487. 

The  Causative  Verb  faire. 
One  is  often  said  to  perform  an  act  when  he  is  merely 
the  cause  of  its  accomplishment — He  hurled  his  father, 
He  built  a  house.  Thus  it  was  not  unusual  in  Old 
French  for  verbs,  through  the  omission  of  faire,  to  as- 
sume a  causative  function.    Examples  follow : 

Aparoir:  A  tant  es  vos  un  angele  cui  deus  i  aparut! 
Pel.  de  Ch.  672. 

Apeler  (S').  The  modern  use  of  this  verb  may  be  the 
result  of  the  ellipsis  of  faire.    Compare : 

JSTeporquant  ne  vos  doi  celer,  Comant  je  me  faz  apeler, 
Ch.  L.  4611. 

Aprendre:  Qui  trovera  Penfant  petit,  Norir  le  face 
gentement,  De  ceaus  dis  mars  qui  sont  d^argent,  E  por 
aprendre  auques  de  letre,  Greg.  23-8. 

Ardoir:  Tuit  dient  que  mout  est  cortois  Alixandres  et 
bien  apris  Des  chevaliers  qu^il  avoit  pris.  Quant  au  roi 

"  Compare:  Tote  la  droite  voie  tindrent  Tant  que  a  Caradi- 
gan  vindrent,  Erec  1087;  Ne  flna  jusqu'a  Jehan  vint,  Clig. 
6176.  Estre  is  used  in  its  place  after  tant  que  in,  Ne  finent 
tant  qu'an  Orece  sont,  Clig.  6748. 


96  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

nes  avoit  randuz;  Qu'il  les  eiist  ars  ou  panduz/  Clig. 
1358. 

Ariver\'  il  les  mena  Tant  qu^al  rocher  les  arriva,  Greg. 
104-21. 

Clergier:  Por  eel  tel  duol  rovat  clergiet  Si  s^ent  entrat 
en  un  monstier,  St.  Leg.  65.  (The  diplomatic  text  reads 
rova  s  clergier;  the  alteration  does  not  seem  warranted.) 

Conreer:  Uemperere  de  France  fait  conreer  sa  gent: 
Cels  qui  od  lui  alerent  conreat  gentement,  Pel.  de  Ch.  76. 

(Corir.  Instead  of  corir  being  elliptical  for  faire  corir 
son  cheval,  in  such  cases  as  the  following,  the  action  is 
spoken  of  as  being  done  by  the  person : 

ISTe  t^estovra  gueires  loing  corre  .  .  .  Lors  s'est  Erec 
mis  es  galos,  Erec  4356-4374;  Vers  Tome  nu,  que  eles 
voient,  Cort  et  desgant  Tune  des  trois,  Ch.  L.  2892.) 

Descendre:  Mult  at  deus  atrait  E  par  povres  fait,  Puis 
qu^il  fist  le  mund,  Maint  tyrant  vencu,  D'orgoil  descendu 
Cels  qui  oil  Funt,  Eeim.  43a. 

Empaindre:  Totes  ses  oz  at  empeintes  en  mer,  Rol. 
2629. 

Enclore:  Qui  sont  cil,  qui  de  trai'son  Yos  apelent  et  an 
prison  Vos  ont  anclose  an  cest  reclus?  Ch.  L.  3645. 

Enserrer:  Et  por  ce,  se  nus  hon  fei'st  L'ostel  as  noires 
armes  querre,  An  une  chanbre  les  anserre,  Clig.  4716. 

The  idea  is  causative  as  is  shown  by  the  following : 

Les  armes  qu'il  porta  le  jor  Comande  que  soient  re- 
postes,  ib.  4816. 

Ensevelir:  Por  ce  font  li  baron  mandee  Que  ta  terre 
vienges  saisir  E  ton  chier  frere  ensevelir/  Greg.  29-16. 

'Cf.  Ne  viaut  que  d'aus  eiist  seisine  Li  rois,  car  toz  lest 
(read  les)  fei'st  pandre,  Clig.  1352. 

^So  with  Froissart: 

qu'en  Albion  les  arriva  et  mist,  Froiss.  II  382,  18;  se  il 
voloit  consentir  §,  ariver  les  Engles  en  ses  fortereces  dou 
clos  de  Constentin,  ib.  VII  483  (taken  from  Ebering,  Zts. 
f.  r.  Ph.  5,  334). 

*  Cf.  Les  fameilous  fai  saoler,  Les  nuz  vestir  e  conreer, 
Morz  seveilir  e  enterrer  E  les  nuz  vestir  e  chancier,  Gr^g. 
83-23;  Et  fera  les  cors  metre  an  terre,  Erec  4958;  et  le  fist 
ensevelir  con  empereor  honorablement,  V.  H.  223  (citation 
from  Fredenhagen,  p.  74). 


The  Verb.  97 

Mander:  "  Feites  mon  chapelain  mander,  Et  vos  alez 
la  dame  querre  .  .  /^  Lors  ont  le  chapelain  mande  Si 
con  li  cuens  Tot  comande,  Et  la  dame  ront  amenee,  Erec 
4762. 

Monter:  Por  la  joie  croistre  et  monter,  Erec  6330;  Les 
(i.  e.  the  men)  ont  as  deffanses  montez,  Clig.  2161;  Cist 
plez  ne  doit  avant  venir,  Ne  Fan  nel  doit  plus  hant  mon- 
ter, Ch.  L.  100. 

Morir.  The  nse  of  morir  in  the  sense  of  "to  kill" 
may  have  originated  in  the  ellipsis  of  the  causative  verb. 
In  the  following  examples  morir  has  this  meaning,  used 
in  the  past  indefinite  and  pluperfect  tenses — not  in  the 
present  and  imperfect  with  mort  as  an  adjective,  which 
it  is,  however,  possible  to  consider  as  the  point  of  de- 
parture from  the  original  meaning,  since,  as  a  transitive 
verb,  it  is  used  in  Old  French  only  in  the  compound 
tenses: 

Par  tantes  terres  est  alez  conquerant,  Tanz  cols  at  pris 
de  bons  espiez  trenchanz,  Tanz  riches  reis  morz  et  vencuz 
en  champ !  Eol.  553 ;  Qui  tei  at  mort,  France  dolce  at 
honide,  ib.  2935 ;  Se  tu  avoies  mort  ou  pris  Un  chevalier 
qui  n'a  pooir  De  relever  .  .  .  Erec  5042;  Bien  avez  les 
hiaumes  vetiz  De  ceus  que  j'ai  veincuz  et  morz,  ib.  6108 ; 
Car  mes  sire  est  a  mort  bleciez,  Et  bien  sai  que  vos  Favez 
mort,  Ch.  L.  982 ;  Mes  Yvains  a  ma  dame  morte,  ib.  2742 
(it  is  a  year  since  Yvain  last  saw  her) ;  'Ne  ne  set,  a  cui 
se  confort  De  lui,  qu^il  mei'smes  a  mort,  ib.  2791 ;  Et  que 
devant  lui  s'umelie  Por  le  serpant,  qu'il  avoit  mort,  Et 
lui  delivre  de  la  mort,  ib.  3404. 

Ocirre:  "Si  ne  faites  de  cest  enfant  Tot  ce  que  je 
comanderai  Certes  jamais  ne  mainjerai.^^  Quant  la  dame 
li  ot  ce  dire  Cuida  que  le  vosist  ocire,  Greg.  20-14; 
"  Ocirre  ferai  or  androit  .  .  .  Yostre  seignor  devant  voz 
iauz."  "...  Trop  seriiez  fel  et  tra'ites  Se  vos  I'oci'eiiez 
einsi,  Erec  3357;  "Dame,  ja  voir  ne  crierai  Merci,  ainz 
7 


98  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

vos  mercierai  De  quanque  vos  me  voldroiz  feire  .  .  ." 
''  Et  se  je  vos  oci  ? ''  \  Ch.  L.  1975. 

Pendre:  see  Ardoir, 

Plovoir.  Possibly  the  omission  of  faire  in  the  last 
verse  of  the  following  passage  is  the  result  of  a  confusion 
of  the  personal  il  in  the  previous  verse  with  an  imper- 
sonal il: 

Li  covandroit  feire  a  lui  pes,  Ou  il  ne  fineroit  ja  mes 
De  la  fontainne  tormanter  Et  de  plovoir  et  de  vanter/" 
Ch.  L.  6523. 

Revenir:  Lors  por  revenir  *  sa  color  Le  comancierent 
a  beignier,  Erec  5222. 

Revestvr:  Povres  mesaeisiez  eslut  Plus  de  gant  et  seis- 
sante  et  nuef,  Si  les  revesti  tot  de  nuef,  Erec  6534. 

Soner  is  used  with  faire  ^^  as  well  as  without  it.  The 
latter  usage  came  about  through  the  ellipsis  of  the  causa- 
tive verb,  for  in  Classic  Latin  sonare  was  not  used  in  the 
sense  of  "to  cause  to  sound.^^ 

"  Sonez  voz  graisles,  que  mi  paiien  le  sachent.^^  Par 
tote  Post  font  lor  tabors  soner  Et  cez  boisines  et  cez 
graisles  molt  clers,  Rol.  3136 ;  Cil  est  molt  proz  qui  sonet 
Polifant,  ib.  3193;  Sonent  flautes  et  fresteles,  Timbre, 
tabletes  et  tabor,  Ch.  L.  2352. 

'  A  little  farther  on  we  read : 

Et  je  cult,  que  rien  ne  vaudroit.  Quant  fet  ocirre  vos 
avroie,  ib.  2006. 

^"Cf.  Et  s*i  feroit  tant  foudroiier  Et  tant  vanter  et  taut 
plovoir  Que  .  .  .  ib.  6520;  Puis  errerent  tant  que  il  virent 
La  fontainne  et  plovoir  i  firent,  ib.  6533. 

*  Zauner,  2,  148,  translates  this  verse  by  "  well  seine 
Parbe  wiederkam,"  which,  though  differing  from  Foerster's 
interpretation,  is  substantiated  by  nothing  in  the  text.  Com- 
pare the  following  passage  in  Old  Provengal: 

E  laissa-1  (=  so  caval)  a  sa  volontat  Falser  de  la  bella 
erba  fresca,  Que-1  reven  lo  cor  e-1  refresca,  Appel,  p.  16, 
1.  160. 

"Examples:  Tost  fait  le  glas  soner  par  la  citet  menut, 
P§1.  de  Ch.  197;  Par  tote  Tost  font  lor  tabors  soner,  Rol. 
3137;  En  I'un  funt  soner  E  bien  acorder  Les  dolz  estrumenz, 
Reim.  102a. 


The  Verb.  99 

Sovenir:  Quant  il  lor  prist  a  sovenir,  Que  .  .  .  Ch.  L. 
4052. 

Venter:  see  Plovoir. 

Vestir:  Premieremant  se  fist  lacier  lines  chauces  de 
blanc  acier.  Apres  vest  un  hauberc  .  .  .  (2654)  Tuit  se 
pranent  a  mervoillier,  Por  quoi  il  armer  se  feisoit  .  .  . 
Quant  del  hauberc  I'orent  arme  Un  hiaume  a  cercle  d'or 
liste  .  .  .  Uns  vaslez  sor  le  chief  li  lace,  Erec  2637. 

Infinitive  with  pooir.^ 

Some  verb,  such  as  empeschier  accompanying  a  nega- 
tive clause,  and  acomplir  with  an  affirmative  clause,  is 
sometimes  omitted  with  pooir.  The  omission  of  the 
neuter  accusative  pronoun  le  was  probably  of  later  de- 
velopment; it  still  remains  in  the  first  of  the  following 
examples : 

Longement  n^i  serai  prise,  Se  jel  puis  mie,  Auc.  5,  24 ; 
Mais  se  je  puis,  il  ne  vos  tenront  ja,  ib.  26,  20 ;  Que  ja 
par  force,  que  je  puisse,  .  .  .  Ne  li  leirai  mon  heritage !  "* 
Ch.  L.  4783. — Et  se  je  puis,  jusqu'au  tierz  jor  Me  serai 
je  mis  el  retor,  Erec  265;  Mes  se  je  puis,  sire  vassaus, 
Sor  vos  retomera  li  maus,  Ch.  L.  497. 

The  omission  of  aler,  depending  on  pooir,  is  not  un- 
usual : 

II  est  si  fiebles  qu^il  ne  poet  en  avant,  Eol.  2228 ;  En- 
dormiz  est,  ne  poet  mais  en  avant,  ib.  2520;  Quant  fu 
venu  a  tant  Ke  ne  pout  avant,  Murir  li  cuvint,  Omnip. 
63a. 

Faire  is  the  verb  most  frequently  left  to  be  understood 
with  pooir: 

Soz  ciel  n^at  gent  qui  plus  puissent  en  champ,  Eol. 
3049;  La  pucele  quant  miauz  ne  puet,  Yuelle  ou  non, 

"  See  Tobler,  Oott  Gel.  Anz.,  1877,  p.  1610. 
"Cited  also  by  Tobler,  who  gives  several  other  examples 
as  well,  V.  B.  1,  101  (article  17). 


100  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

retorner  Festuet,  Erec  187;  A  cest  mot  s'est  Erec  levez 
An  son  seant^  qu^il  ne  pot  plus,  ib.  5088 ;  Done  porroie  je 
mout  petit,  Clig.  516  ;  For  quoi  ne  puet  li  miens  toz  sens 
Autretant  con  li  suens  par  Ini?  ib.  4506;  Tant  puet  et 
tant  set  et  tant  vant  .  .  .  Ch.  L.  632. 

Auxiliary  avoir  Omitted  When  Eeplacing  estre. 

But  one  example  of  this  ellipsis  has  been  found : 

Tant  s'est  Alixandre  penez  Et  tant  fet  par  son  bel 
servise.  Que  mout  Taimme  li  rois  et  prise,  Clig.  418. 

Omission  of  Yerb  in  the  Second  Term  of  a  Comparison. 

In  comparisons,  a  negative  verb  is  sometimes  omitted* 
following  an  affirmative : 

Vint  plus  tost  qu'uns  alerions  (sc.  ne  vole),  Ch.  L. 
487;  Vint  d^ire  plus  ardanz  que  (sc.  n'est)  brese,  ib.  812; 
si  m^en  poise  asses  plus  que  de  mi,  Auc.  24,  56  (here 
faire  would  replace  peser) ;  Si  devint  plus  noire  que  terre, 
Ch.  L.  5938. 

Omission  before  a  Eepetition  of  the  Verb. 

When  occurring  in  a  following  clause,  a  verb  is  most 
frequently  omitted  after  devoir ^  pooir,  savoir  and  voloir: 

Et  li  autre  si  come  il  doivent  Ses  armes  pranent  et 
regoivent,  Ch.  L.  4683;  Tant  com  poons,  I'avons  sel6, 
Grreg.  11-21;  Quanqu'il  puet,  apres  esperone,  Ch.  L.  881; 
Or  te  pri  et  quier  et  demant,  Se  tu  sez,  que  tu  me  con- 
soille,  ib.  364;  Ore  a  tot  einsi  come  il  viaut  La  dameisele 
delivree,  ib.  4566. 

non-repetition  of  the  verb. 

1. 

The  repetition  of  the  verb  in  the  same  form,  with  the 
same  word  for  the  subject,  is  avoided  in  Old  French : 

Alquant  dels  palmes  prendent  raimes,  Dels  oliviers 
alquant  les  branches.   Pass.   37;   Grand  font  escham, 


The  Yeeb.  ''  '^  '   lioil 

grand  cridaizon,  ib.  286;  Cent  colombes  i  at  tot  de 
marbre  en  estant;  Chascune  est  a  fin  or  neielee  devant 
.  .  .  De  cuivre  et  de  metal  tresjetet  dons  enfanz,  Pel.  de 
Ch.  350;  Voeillet  o  non/*  Eol.  1419;  Que  set  tres  bien 
tos  seaiis  (i.  e.  ceaus)  sauver,  Que  il  plaist,  en  terre  e 
en  mer,  Greg.  33-19 ;  Une  norisse  a  demandee  Por  Ten- 
fant  norir,  e  louee,  ib.  39-17;  ceste  nostre  ferte  Qui  ne 
pot  par  force  estre  prise,  Ne  par  assaut  estre  conquise, 
ib.  54-6;  Fai  le  gesir  sor  eel  estraim,  De  lez  tes  rez  le 
laisse  aval,  ib.  87-10;  Si  que  riens  antrer  n'i  pooit,  Se 
par  dessore  n'i  voloit,"  Erec  5743;  Ou  soit  de  terre  ou 
de  tresor/*  Clig.  5147;  qu'il  ne  voloit  estre  cevalers  ne 
.  .  .  faire  point  de  quanque  il  deust,"  Auc.  2,  16. 

So  the  auxiliary  verb  avoir  may  be  compounded  with 
two  past  participles  even  when  both  are  transitive  with 
different  objects : 

Si  ont  au  chaple  des  espees  Les  guiges  des  escuz  cou- 
pees  Et  les  escuz  dehachiez  toz,  Ch.  L.  825. 

Devoir,  pooir,  voloir  may  govern  two  infinitives,  each 
sometimes  with  an  object  depending  on  it : 

Desfier  me  deiissiez  vos,  S^il  eust  querele  autre  nos, 
Ou  au  mains  droiture  requerre,  Ch.  L.  493 ;  Que  puisses 
ceaus  tables  raveir  E  que  est  ens  escrit  saveir,  Greg.  24-5 ; 
Que  ne  Ppoeient  sol  covrir,  Le  environ  son  cors  tenir,  ib. 
96-23;  Comander  vos  vuel  et  priier,  Ch.  L.  136. 

A  negative  verb  is  often  not  repeated  as  an  affirmative 
in  the  same  form : 

Wi  ont  escuz  ne  lances  ne  espees  trenchanz,  Mais  fuz 
ferrez  de  fraisne  et  escharpes  pendanz,  Pel.  de  Ch.  79; 

"Cf.  veullies  u  nan  veulUes,  in  Nouvelles  frangoises, 
quoted  by  Lotz,  p.  6  bottom;  Voille  n'en  (read  nen)  voille, 
Gr6g.  67-24;  cf.  the  English  "willy  nilly." 

"The  insertion  of  the  adverb  relating  to  a  non-repeated 
verb  is  unusual. 

"  Soit  is  often  not  repeated,  so  in  Clig.  5982.  Cf.  Ou  soit  de 
Men  ou  soit  de  mal,  ib.  5947;  see  also  Erec  3358,  4224. 

"Cf.  qu'il  ne  veut  estre  cevaliers  ne  faire  point  de  quan- 
que faire  doie,  ib.  4,  6. 


16^  '  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

Icist  pechez  dont  parler  veuil,  Ne  fait  a  dire  par  orgueil, 
Mais  por  eissample  d'autre  gent,  Greg.  1-9;  Erec  ne 
voloit  pas  antandre  A  cheval  n^a  chevalier  prandre,  Mes 
a  joster  et  a  bien  feire,  Erec  2215 ;  Moi  ne  cant  n  nons 
aillons  .  .  .  mais  qne  je  soie  aveuc  vous,  Anc.  27,  12; 
Or  ne  devez  vos  pas  songier,  Mes  les  torneiemanz  ongier, 
Ch.  L.  2503/' 

The  infinitive  alone  is  repeated  in  Greg.  92-16  : 
Ne  deust  estre  d^abaie ;  Mais  estre  en  nn  hermitage. 
Conversely,  a  negative  verb  is  occasionally  omitted 
following  its  use  affirmatively : 

E  pur  eus  vine  en  terre  E  pur  nul  autre  afere,  Omnip. 
68d;  A  las!  qnei  a  il  fet?    A  null  si  ben  nun,  ib.  109e. 

In  the  following,  estre,  if  repeated,  would  be  the  prin- 
cipal verb,  whereas  after  palais  it  is  an  auxiliary : 

Li  palais  fut  d^azur  listez  et  avenanz,  Pel.  de  Ch.  344. 

The  contrary  may  be  the  case  in : 

Li  frein  sont  d^or,  les  seles  d^argent  mises,  Eol.  91. 

Estre  appears  as  an  auxiliary  to  an  intransitive  verb 
in  the  following  quotation^  while,  if  repeated,  it  would 
serve  as  an  auxiliary  to  a  passive  verb : 

Fors  fu  la  dame  descendue  E  receue  a  grant  enor, 
Greg.  18-24. 

An  interrogative  verb  need  not  be  repeated  declara- 
tively : 

Et  done  sui  je  ses  anemis  ?  Nenil  certes,  mes  ses  amis, 
Ch.  L.  1459. 

"  Ellipses  such  as  those  occurring  in  the  passages  cited  by 
Tobler,  V.  B.  3,  13,  are  probably  the  result  of  a  further  ap- 
plication of  the  ellipsis  seen  in  the  above  examples: 

"  Se  del  vivre  ne  trovon  ci,  N'i  at  neient  del  sejorner, 
Mais  del  metre  nos  en  la  mer  (d.  h.  en  la  mer  nos  estuet 
metre),  En.  351";  "Or  escri  done  en  tel  maniere  Au 
premier  a  ta  dame  chiere  Qu'il  n'i  ait  mot  de  vilanie,  Mes 
d'enor  et  de  cortoisie  (tuit  11  mot  soient).  Clef  d*amor,  691." 


The  Verb.  103 

A  verb  in  the  infinitive  is  omitted  after  being  nsed  as 
a  noun  in  Ch.  L.  5224 : 

"  Que  del  rissir  est  11  neanz/^    "  Ne  je  ne  quier/^  fet 
il,  "  biaus  f rere !  ^^ 


In  coordinate  clauses  when  the  construction  is  parallel, 
the  verb,  in  the  same  form,  relating  to  a  different  sub- 
ject, is  usually  not  repeated : 

Petit  se  conoissent  andui:  ISTe  la  conois  ne  ele  lui, 
Greg.  57-9 ;  Si  blasme  Fune  et  Tautre  loe,  Uune  tient  vil 
et  Tautre  chiere,  Clig.  740;  Einsi  fuit  li  faucons  por 
Fane,  Et  li  girfauz  por  le  heiron,  Et  li  gros  luz  por  le 
veiron,  ib.  3854;  Et  li  valles  fu  grans  et  fors  .  .  .  et  li 
cevaux,  sor  quoi  il  sist,  rades  et  corans,  Auc.  10,  4;  ja 
ne  sera  ses  amis,  n^ele  s^amie,  ib.  19,  21;  Toz  jorz  doit 
puir  li  fumiers  Et  taons  poindre  et  maloz  bruire,  Enuieus 
enuiier  et  nuire,  Ch.  L.  116;  L'escu  a  pris  par  les 
enarmes,  Et  Keus  le  suen,  si  s'antreleissent,  ib.  2244 ;  Car 
Feiist  il  or  afiee  Et  ele  lui  de  nue  main,  ib.  2065. 

To  a  complete  statement  there  is  frequently  added  in 
Old  French  a  noun  which  is  grammatically  the  subject 
of  a  coordinate  clause  whose  predicate,  which  is  under- 
stood, is,  with  occasional  slight  variation,  identical  with 
that  of  the  preceding  clause : 

Que  Charles  diet,  et  trestote  sa  gent  .  .  .  Eol.  2362; 
Si  com  li  venz  le  demenot,  E  Fonde  qui  le  debotot,  Greg. 
33-23;  Uanperere  les  convoie  Et  Fanpererriz  cui  mout 
poise,  Clig.  240;  Li  rois  Artus  mut  Fandemain  Et  la 
reine  et  ses  puceles,  ib.  436 ;  oent  les  noveles.  Que  li  rois 
vient  et  si  baron,  ib.  438 ;  Que  sans  lor  faut  et  hardemanz 
A  dire  ce  qu^il  ont  an  pans,  ib.  3862;  Et  li  sire  de  la 
meison  Se  lieve  et  tuit  si  conpeignon,  Ch.  L.  4935 ;  Mes 
sire  Yvains  el  vergier  autre  Et  apres  lui  tote  sa  rote,  ib. 
5360. 


104  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

Thus  far,  it  is  a  clear  case  of  a  natural  ellipsis.  When 
the  verb  in  the  first  clause  precedes  its  subject,  there  is 
still  the  same  ellipsis,  though  it  is  less  apparent : 

Molt  bien  i  fiert  Oliviers  et  Eollanz,  Eol.  1413;  Es- 
clariz  est  li  vespres  et  li  jorz,  ib.  1807;  Ou'st  I'arces- 
vesques  et  li  cuens  Oliviers?  Ou  est  Gerins  et  ses  com- 
paing  Geriers  ?  Ou  est  Oton  et  li  cuens  Berengiers,  Ive 
et  Ivories,  que  j^aveie  tant  chiers?  Qu^est  devenuz  li 
Guascoing  Engeliers,  Sanson  li  dus  et  Anseis  li  fiers? 
ib.  2403 ;  Sis  guiderat  Geboins  et  Lorenz,  ib.  3022 ;  Re- 
paidret  lui  vigor  et  remembrance,  ib.  3614;  Plore  li 
freres  e  la  suer,  Greg.  14-23 ;  Trestuit  dient  que  mar  fu 
Sis  cors,  sis  senz  e  sa  vertu,  ib.  41-21;  Grant  plaint  e 
grant  duel  en  mena  Tuit  li  clergie  e  li  autre  home  Qui  a 
eel  tens  ierent  a  Eome,  ib.  97-16;  Ja  est  morz  Adam, 
ISToe,  Abraam,  Moyses,  Davi,  Salemum  li  sages,  Eeim. 
120a;  Plore  la  pucele  et  li  pere,  Erec  1462;  Liez  an  iert 
ma  dame  et  mes  sire,  ib.  4165;  A  Puis  de  la  chanbre 
defors  Fu  Dodiniaus  et  Sagremors  Et  Keus  et  mes  sire 
Gauvains,  Ch.  L.  53 ;  Se  leva  mout  isnelemant  Mes  sire 
Yvains  et  sa  pucele,  ib.  5452. 

When  a  verb  in  the  singular  may  be  followed  by  two 
or  more  singular  subjects,  it  is  natural  that  the  ellipsis 
should  be  still  further  lost  sight  of,  and  that  one  or  more 
plural  subjects  should  follow  the  singular  verb.  This 
use  has  been  explained  "  by  assuming  the  verb  to  be  used 
impersonally,  with  the  logical  subject  following,  while 
another  theory ''°  is  that  the  idea  of  the  plurality  of  the 
following  subject  has  not  yet  clearly  entered  the  mind 
when  the  verb  is  spoken,  thus  also  accounting  for  the 
non-agreement  in  modern  times  of  the  past  participle 
with  a  following  object.    The  latter  theory  does  not,  how- 

"A.  Horning,  Rom.  Stud.,  4,  260;  E.  Gessner,  p.  14. 
^Tobler,  V.  B.  1,  192  (article  34). 


The  Verb.  105 

ever,   explain  the   construction  seen  in   the  following 


An  ce  metez  antante  et  cure.  Que  feite  soit  an  tel  me- 
niere  Et  la  sepouture  et  la  biere,  Que  .  .  .  Clig.  5338. 

The  use  of  the  plural  subject- word  following  a  singu- 
lar verb  has  not  been  found  in  the  works  examined,  and 
Horning  "  says  that  there  are  no  examples  of  this  "  im- 
personal ^'  use  of  the  verb  before  the  middle  of  the  twelfth 
century.  Since,  therefore,  the  elliptical  use  of  two  singu- 
lar subjects  after  the  singular  verb  preceded  the  above 
described  "impersonal"  use  of  the  verb  by  at  least 
three-quarters  of  a  century,  it  seems  probable  that  the 
latter  is  in  reality  due  originally  to  a  broader  application 
of  the  construction  which  developed  through  the  ellipsis 
of  the  verb,  whatever  may  have  been  the  manner  of  view- 
ing it  in  later  years. 

The  use  of  the  two  singular  subjects  with  a  singular 
verb  is  found  later  preceding  the  verb,  but,  except  when 
the  subjects  were  so  similar  in  meaning  that  they  may 
have  been  thought  of  as  expressing  but  a  single  idea, 
the  incongruity  of  this  construction  doubtless  prevented 
its  frequent  use : 

La  plus  jantis  et  la  plus  bele  Qui  soit  jusque  la,  ce  me 
sanble,  Ou  li  ciaus  et  la  terre  assanble,  Erec  1784 ;  Toz  li 
peitraus  et  li  lorains  Fu  d^or  et  d'esmeraudes  plains,  ib. 
5333;  Toz  li  fruiz  et  blez  et  vins  i  vient,  ib.  5400;  Mes 
force  et  hardemanz  li  doble,  Clig.  1912;  Vie  et  joie  lor 
est  despiz,  ib.  2082 ;  Proesce  et  amors  qui  Tanlace  Le  fet 
hardi  et  conbatant,  ib.  3804;  Cui  sans  et  memoires  n'an 
faut,  ib.  3876;  An  Bretaingne  sont  li  prodomo  Qu^enors 
et  proesce  renome,  ib.  4255;  Mes  ses  cuers  et  ses  esperiz 
Est  a  Cliges,  ib.  4346;  Ses  gens  cors  et  ses  viaires,  Sa 


106  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

biautes  le  cuer  m'esclaire,  Auc.  3,  15;  Deus  et  li  droiz 
.  .  .  An  soit  an  aie  a  celui,  Qui  ^  .  .  .  Ch.  L.  5983. 


The  verb,  sometimes  in  a  different  form,  but  relating 
to  the  same  subject,  is  "usually  not  repeated  when  de- 
pending on  some  verb  in  the  second  clause,  particularly 
devoir^  oser,  pooir,  savoir,  soloir,  voloir: 

Tot  no-1  vos  pois  eu  bien  compter,  No-1  puot  nulz 
huom  de  medre  nez,^  Pass.  447 ;  Sempre  fist  bien  o  que 
il  puot,  St.  Leg.  40;  Quant  de  la  mer  eschape  sont  Et 
venu  la  ou  il  voloient,  Clig.  284;  Cist  cinq  font  duel  de 
lor  seignor  Si  grant  qu^il  ne  pueent  greignor,  ib.  2085; 
Que  mains  jeue  qu'ele  ne  siaut,  ib.  2998;  Que  plus  le 
loent  tuit  ansanble  Qu^il  ne  devroient,  ib.  5017;  Et  aut 
plus  tost  que  il  ne  siaut,  Ch.  L.  1835 ;  "  De  remenoir  vos 
prieroie.^^  "  Certes,  dame,  je  n^oseroie,^^  ib.  4623 ;  Si  les 
salue  et  les  enore  De  quanque  ele  set  et  puet,  ib.  5834; 
Avra  il  droit,  se  il  se  plaint?  Nenil;  qu^il  ne  savra  de 
cui,  ib.  6104. 

Se  ,  .  ,  ,  non!^ 

This  familiar  locution  originated  in  the  non-repetition 
of  the  verb,  sometimes  together  with  the  ellipsis  of  a 
pronoun : 

Mais  n^a  talent  li  facet  se  bien  non  (sc.  li  facet),  Eol. 
3681 ;  Et  po  fet  an  se  par  lui  non  (sc.  le  fet),  Clig.  2588 ; 
'^Q  se  set  a  cui  conseillier  S^an  panser  non  et  an  veillier, 
ib.  2991 ;  Car  ja  n'amera  se  lui  non,  ib.  2899 ;  Je  nel  vos 
demant  se  por  lui  non,  Auc.  24,  29. 

^Cf.  Que  Deus  et  droiz  li  eideront,  Ch.  L.  4333;  Que  Deus 
et  droiz  a  un  se  tienent,  ib.  4445. 

^Cf.  Et  le  duel,  qui  ja  n'iert  descriz;  Que  nus  ne  le  por- 
roit  descrivre,  Ch.  L.  1174. 

"  See  Tobler,  V.  B.  3,  68  ft. 


The  Verb.  107 

The  verb  is  occasionally  repeated  after  non  (ne)  or 
replaced  by  faire  : 

Car  rien  ne  soi,  don  mans  me  vaingne,  Se  de  ma  vo- 
lante  ne  vient,  Clig.  3078;  Mes  ce  coment  pot  avenir, 
Que  tu  mon  seignor  oceis,  S^an  tra'ison  ne  le  feis  ?  Ch.  L. 
1232;  Ja  mes  si  riche  mariage  N^avroiz,  se  vos  cestui 
n'avez,  ib.  5718;  Que  pou  puet  on  fame  trouer  Qui  de  son 
cors  face  mesfet,  Se  par  autre  fame  nel  fet,  Ebeling's 
Auberee,  664. 

The  meaning  of  "  but  rather ''  is  evidently  due  to  an 
extension  of  its  use,  the  idea  of  exception,  which  se  .  .  . 
non  expressed,  having  assumed  the  added  idea  of  con- 
trast : 

et  si  estoit  entecies  de  bones  teces,  qu'en  lui  n'en  avoit 
nule  mauvaise,  se  bone  non,  Auc.  2,  14. 

The  possibility  that  estre  is  the  omitted  verb  in  some 
cases  deserves  consideration  which  it  has  not  received.  It 
is  not  only  often  more  appropriate,  as  in  Auc.  2,  14, 
above,  and  in  Erec  5739,  below,  but  also  requisite,  as  in 
Auc.  14,  6,  below : 

El  vergier  n^avoit  anviron  Mur  ne  paliz  se  de  Per  non, 
Erec  5739 ;  Et  puis  que  vos  ariies  jut  en  lit  a  home  s^el 
mien  non  .  .  .  Auc.  14,  6. 

It  is  important  that  se  .  .  .  ne  is  found  followed  by 
estrCj  though  related  words  and  phrases  usually  follow 
the  verb,  instead  of  separating  se  and  non: 

S^a  dit  a  toz  qu'ele  ne  viaut  Que  nus  hon  an  sa  chanbre 
vaingne  .  .  .  Se  n^est  Tanperere  ou  ses  nies,  Clig.  5670; 
Par  ou  riens  nule  s^an  alast,  Se  ce  n^iert  oisiaus,  Ch.  L. 
1113;  Ne  n'a  tesmoing  de  sa  loange,  Se  ce  n^est  por 
fausse  losange,  ib.  2189.^ 

**Cf.  je  cuit  Qu'il  n'i  avoit  ne  fer  ne  fust  Ne  rien,  qui  de 
cuivre  ne  fust,  Ch.  L.  214. 


108  Ellipsis  m  Old  French. 

4. 

The  non-repetition  of  the  verb  in  a  different  form, 
relating  to  a  different  subject,  occurs  less  frequently  than 
under  other  circumstances: 

Li  uns  li  fiert  en  sun  escu,  Les  treis  al  blanc  hauberc 
menu,  Gorm.  622;  Et  desimes  tel  chose,  que  estre  ne 
delist,  Pel.  de  Ch.  666;  La  fu  li  reis  qui  tote  Espaigne 
tint.  Tot  entorn  lui  vint  milie  Sarrazin,  Rol.  409 ;  E ! 
gentilz  reis,  ja  sont  vencut  nostre  home,  Li  amiralz  ocis 
a  si  grant  honte  !  ^  ib.  3642 ;  Qu^il  ne  s'amassent  anbedui, 
Gil  celi  et  cele  celui,  Glig.  2271;  "  Or  vos  en  alez  antre- 
metre,  S'asseez  vostre  sepouture  .  .  ."  Jehanz  respont: 
"  Yolantiers,  sire,^^  ib.  6104  (after  volantiers  the  verb 
would  naturally  be  replaced  by  faire) ;  "  Mais  je  doi 
plorer  et  dol  f aire/^  "  Et  tu  de  quoi,  frere  ?  "  Auc.  24, 
45;  "Queus  hon  es  tu?''  "Tens  con  tu  voiz,"  Gh.  L. 
331 ;  "  Je  gart  si  cestes  et  Justis,  Que  ja  n'istront  de  cest 
porpris.''  "  Et  tu  coment? ''  ib.  341 ;  "  Et  que  voldroies 
tu  trover  ? ''  "  Avantures  por  esprover  Ma  proesce,''  ib. 
361;  De  la  fontainne  poez  croire,  Qu'ele  boloit  come  eve 
chaude,  ib.  422 ;  "  Qui  est,  qui  se  demante  si  ?  "  Et  cil 
li  respont :  "  Et  vos,  qui  ?  ''  ib.  3571. 

The  non-repetition  of  the  verb  may  occur  when  a 
preposition  is  required  before  it: 

Et  dient  tuit,  qu'onques  ne  finent,  Erec  6374. 

Faire  que  sages. 

In  expressions  such  as  faire,  dire,  que  sages,  the  verb 
is  not  repeated: 

Jo  fereie  que  fols,  Rol.  1053 ;  Et  de  ce  firent  mout  que 
preu,  Gh.  L.  855;  "Vos  dites,''  fet  li  rois,  "que  sage,'' 
(fem.)  ib.  4786. 

^The  following  passage  is  cited  by  Tobler,  V.  B.  1,  204 
(article  36),  as  an  example  of  the  superfluous  qui:  De 
marhre  sont  li  piler  et  li  pan,  Et  les  fenestres  entaillies 


The  Verb.  109 

There  is  at  least  as  much  reason  for  considering  this 
que  in  the  sense  of  "  as/^  as  there  is  for  believing  it  to 
mean  "  what/^  Tobler  *  takes  the  latter  view :  "  Unbe- 
streitbar  ist  auch,  dass  in  Yerbindungen  wie  il  a  fait  que 
gentiex  rois  Et  qv£  sages  et  que  courtois,  Cleom.  15127 
.  .  .  nach  der  von  Diez  a.  a.  0.  vorgetragenen  Auffassung 
des  H.  Estienne  in  der  That  que  das  eben  besprochene 
Relativum,  also  mit  neufranzosischem  ce  que  gleich- 
zusetzen,  und  dass  dazu  als  Verbum  des  verkiirzten  Rela- 
tivsatzes  aus  dem  Hauptsatze  fait,  font,  feroit,  eust  fait 
hinzu  zn  denken  ist/^  and  Foerster  *"  translates  firent  qv^ 
preu  ''  darin  handelten  sie  wie  wackere  Manner/^  adding, 
"  Die  Konstr.  ist  eigentlich  fiTent  [ce]  qwe  [/on/]  yreu; 
genau  so  1435  ai  je  dit  que  sages  f  "  whereas  Cledat "  says : 
" '  Faire  que  '  suivi  d'un  adj.  ou  d^un  subst.  attribut  = 
agir  en;  faire  en,  comme  dit  encore  Corneille  (le  Cid)  : 
^Ayez  soin  que  tons  deux  f assent  en  gens  de  coeur/ 
L^ancienne  langue  aurait  dit:  'f assent  que  gens  de 
coeur/  La  Fontainne  (Fable  du  pot  de  terre  et  du  pot 
de  fer)  :  ^  II  ferait  que  sage/  " 

An  object  preceded  by  de  often  accompanies  the  verb 
in  these  expressions,  and  while  it  may  be  thought  that  the 
preposition  is  used  because  the  object  of  the  verb  is  qu^, 
it  is  fully  as  probable  that  it  is  because  the  verb  is  in- 
transitively used : 

N"aimes  li  dus  d'igo  at  fait  que  proz,  Rol.  2423;  De 
tant  fist  mout  Erec  que  sages,  Erec  232;  Et  de  ce  fist 
que  bien  apris,  Clig.  6111;  Et  de  ce  firent  mout  que 
preu,  Ch.  L.  855 ;  ne  cuit  mie  savoir,  Qu'ele  me  het  plus 

d'argent,  Et  Vaigle  d'or  qui  reluist  et  resplent,  Orenge  462. 
But,  considering  the  frequent  occurrence  of  the  non-repeti- 
tion of  the  verb,  it  seems  more  likely  that  the  verb  est  is  to 
be  supplied  after  aigle,  and  that  qui  is  required. 

^V.  B.  1,  11  (article  2). 

^  Note  to  1.  855,  Ch.  L. 

*  In  his  glossary  to  Rol.,  under  faire. 


110  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

or  androit,  Que  nule  rien^  et  si  a  droit.    D'  "  or  androit  ^' 
ai  je  dit  que  sages,  ib.  1432. 

Since  faire """  and  dire  ^^  are  used  intransitively  in  Old 
French,  and  que  is  used  in  the  sense  of  come^^  no  ob- 
stacle remains  to  the  belief  that  que  is  here  an  adverbial 
conjunction,  which  belief  is  strengthened  by  a  compari- 
son of  the  use  of  que  and  the  nominative  adjective  fol- 
lowing verbs  other  than  faire  and  dire,  with  the  use  of 
come  with  such  verbs.^* 

All  that  remains  to  prove  the  theory  is  the  discovery 
of  examples  in  which  either  the  verb  is  intransitive  or 
some  other  word  or  a  phrase  is  unquestionably  the  object. 
While  no  examples  have  been  found  of  some  other  word 
as  object,  come  then  replacing  que,  there  are  some  of 
intransitive  verbs  and  of  phrase  objects  accompanying 
que  with  the  nominative  adjective,  but  the  phrase  may 
be  considered  by  some  as  explanatory  of  que,  taken  as 
the  object.  It  is  not  surprising  that  instances  of  the  use 
of  a  word-object  are  lacking,  when  one  bears  in  mind 

"  Sez  tu,  come  li  amant  font?  Content  le  tans  et  la  seison, 
Ch.  L.  2760. 

""Cil  rois  don  je  vos  di  fu  nains,  Erec  1995;  De  mon 
seignor  Gauvain  vuel  dire,  ib.  2224. 

^^  See  Tobler,  V.  B.  2,  53.  Compare:  si  que  vous  av6s  oi 
et  entendu,  Auc.  6,  1,  and,  si  con  vos  av^s  oi  et  entendu,  ib. 
10,  1, — ce  ne  porroit  estre  que  vos  m'amissi6s  tant,  que  je 
fac  vos.  Fenme  ne  puet  tant  amer  I'oume,  con  li  horn  fait 
le  fenme,  ib.  14,  18, — Tant  con  fins  ors  le  cuivre  passe  Et 
plus  que  je  ne  di  ancor,  Clig.  2774,  and,  Et  aussi  fieremant 
ou  plus  Corent  li  uns  as  autres  sus,  Con  li  lion  a  proie 
corent,  ib.  1753,  and,  se  j'estoie  ausi  rices  hom  que  vos  estes, 
Auc.  24,  31. 

^^Come  usually  occurs  in  such  cases:  Chascuns  parolet 
altresi  come  hom,  Rol.  2559;  Beisiee  Va  come  cortois,  Erec 
1835;  Erec  manja  come  malades,  ib.  5168;  Enide  come  debo- 
neire  La  salue,  ib.  6230.  Examples  of  the  use  of  que  are 
given  below. 


The  Verb.  Ill 

that  the  expression  que  sages,  etc.,  occurs,  with  compara- 
tively few  exceptions,  only  with  faire  and  ^iVe,  which,  it 
is  believed,  are  generally  to  be  taken  in  such  cases  as 
intransitive  verbs. 

In  some  of  the  following  examples,  of  which  some  are 
cited  by  Tobler"  in  support  of  his  statement  that  this 
construction  is  found  with  verbs  other  than  faire^  que  is 
clearly  not  a  pronoun,  and  is  probably  an  adverbial  con- 
junction in  the  other  examples  as  well : 

Per  tot  ovrat  que  verus  deus,"  Pass.  7 ;  il  dist  que  cor- 
teis:  "Dame,  molt  estes  bele,'' "^  Pel.  de  Ch.  716;  ele 
dist  molt  que  fole.  Que  ja  preisat  barnet  si  bien  come  le 
nostre,  ib.  819;  Salemon  dit  que  droicturiers  Que  .  .  . 
Trist.  I,  72;  tu  paroles  que  fols.  Barb.  u.  M.  I,  358,  57; 
or  as  que  bris  parle,  Nyrnes  896 ;  De  ce  s'apense  li  vilains 
que  senez,  Que  sel  est  chier  el  regne  dont  fu  nez,^'  Nymes 
880;  and  (V.  B.  2,  53),  Et  tressaut  et  fretelle  que  foeille 
an  vent  de  bise,  Bast.  1269. 

Since,  therefore,  que  in  the  expression  que  sages,  etc., 
is  sometimes  an  adverbial  conjunction,  and  there  seem  to 
be  no  cases  in  which  it  expresses  beyond  doubt  the  mean- 
ing of  "what,^^  the  facts  tend  to  disprove  Tobler^s  as- 
sertion. 

"  V.  B.  1,  12. 

**  The  verse  following  is :  Per  tot  sustint  qued  huom  char- 
nels,  in  which  the  thought  may  be  "  bore  everything,"  "  suf- 
fered." 

"  Cf .  Cele  lor  dit  come  af eitiee :  "  Seignor,  ma  dame  est 
desheitiee,"  Clig.  5475;  Merci  crier  vos  vuel  Del  grant  ou- 
trage et  de  I'orguel,  Que  je  vos  ai  dit  come  fole,  Ch.  L.  1795; 
Et  dist  come  verais  amis:  "  Dame,  ja  voir  ne  crierai  Merci, 
ib.  1974;  Et  cil  li  respont  come  frans:  **  Ja  mar  an  seroiz 
an  espans!"  Erec  611;  Ele  respont  com  af  eitiee:  "Sire 
..."  ib.  4176;  Si  respondi  come  esfreee  .  .  .Que  .  .  .  Ch. 
L.  3680. 

*•  Cf.  Puis  s'apanse  come  cortois.  Que  .  .  .  Clig.  3274. 


112  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

5.  Verb  Eeplaced  by  faired 

As  has  often  been  remarked,  the  substitution  of  faire 
in  Old  French  for  some  preceding  verb  is  frequently 
made.    A  few  examples  are  given : 

ISTuls  hom  vidist  un  rey  tan  ric  Chi  per  batalle  et  per 
estrit  Tant  rey  fesist  mat  ne  mendic  Ne  tanta  terra  cun- 
quesist  Ne  tan  due  nobli  occisist  Cum  Alexander  Magnus 
fist,  Alberic  12;  Que  il  la  garde  en  tel  enor  Cum  freres 
deit  faire  seror,  Greg.  6-17 ;  Lors  Tesgardent  a  grant  mer- 
voille  Trestuit  plus  qu^onques  mes  ne  firent,  Clig.  4836 ; 
Que  por  ce  ne  pert  ele  mie,  Que  il  ne  Faint  come  s'amie, 
Et  ele  lui  tot  autresi,  Con  Fan  doit  feire  son  ami,  ib. 
6755;  Mais  je  vos  aim  plus  que  vos  ne  facies  mi,  Auc. 
14,  16. 

6.  Non-repetition  of  the  Verb  in  the  Second  Term  of 
Comparisons. 

Verbs  are  often  not  repeated  in  comparisons  in  either 
the  same  or  a  different  form.  In  some  cases  the  verb 
faire  would  take  the  place  of  the  repeated  verb. 

Tient  Durendal,  qui  plus  valt  que  fins  ors,  Eol.  1540 ; 
Li  nains  fu  fel  tant  que  nus  plus,"  Erec  218;  Qu'or  an 
sai  plus  que  hues  dearer,  Clig.  1032 ;  Si  vi  qu^il  ot  grosse 
la  teste  Plus  que  roncins  ne  autre  beste,  Ch.  L.  295 ;  Tu 
seras  de  meillor  cheance  Que  chevaliers,  qui  i  fust  onques, 
ib.  406 ;  Et  mes  sire  Gauvains  an  a  Qant  tanz  plus  grant 
joie  que  nus,  ib.  2286 ;  Qu^ele  estoit  au  mien  esciant  Plus 
bele  que  nule  deesse,  ib.  2366;  mes  plus  li  enuie.  Que  li 
bois  ne  la  nuiz,  la  pluie,  ib.  4845 ;  Si  devint  plus  noire 
que  terre,  ib.  5938. 

"^  See  Diez,  Oram.  3,  415. 

^See  Tobler,  V.  B.  1,  84  (article  15). 


CHAPTEE  VII. 

The  Adverb. 

Because  of  the  function  of  the  adverb,  its  omission  is 
comparatively  rare.  The  ellipsis  of  the  following  ad- 
verbs occurs: 

En. 

ITe  seront  veil  n'ancontre,  Tant  que  la  pucele  an  son 
tre  Porront  prandre  et  (sc.  en)  mener  quite,  Clig.  3635. 

I  (Y).' 
With  the  impersonal  verb  avoir,  no  rule  governs  the 
use  of  i: 

Wi  at  eschipre  quis  claint  se  par  lui  non,  Eol.  1522; 
N*en  at  meillor  en  terre  desoz  ciel,  ib.  1674. 

In  nearly  all  other  cases  the  use  of  this  adverb  corre- 
sponds to  that  of  Modern  French.  The  following  omis- 
sions are  to  be  noted : 

Dis  blanches  mules  fist  amener  Marsilies,  Eol.  89; 
Qui  go  jujat  que  deussez  aler,  Par  Charlemaigne  n'iert 
guariz  ne  tensez,  ib.  353 ;  De  Sarragoce  Charles  guarnist 

les  tors Montet  li  reis  od  ses  homes  trestoz,  ib. 

3676 ;  Que  demain  a  joie  vandrai,  Erec  1039 ;  Li  cuens  et 
troi  autre  vassal  S'estoient  venu  apuiier,  ib.  3214;  La 
sele  mise  et  anfrene  L^'a  uns  escuiiers  amene,  ib.  3697 ; 
Ele  n^osa  mie  parfont  antrer  por  les  bestes  sauvages,  Auc. 
18,  3;  Vint  au  chastel  li  cuens  Aliers  A  serjanz  et  a 
chevaliers  Et  mirent  feu  et  prirent  proies,  Ch.  L.  3143 ; 
I  sembla  plus  dure  La  peine  e  plus  hunie  A  sa  mere 
ke  estut,  Omnip.  103b. 

^  For  the  omission  of  i  with  the  future  and  the  conditional 
of  aler,  see  Chapt.  I. 
8 


114  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

La, 

Old  French  required  the  use  of  la  with  ou  in  a  manner 
similar  to  present-day  usage.  Examples  of  its  omission 
are  as  follows :  ^ 

Que,  en  mon  vivant,  ne  Fai  mise  0  sa  biaute  fust  bien 
acise,  Greg.  5-1 ;  S^an  alast  ancui  desconfiz  Ou  il  remas- 
sist  toz  honiz,  Ch.  L.  3241. 

Ne* 
The  omission  of  the  negative  adverb  ne  is  rare  and 
striking.    It  is  omitted  in  the  following  passage : 

II  ne  nos  vait  Si  bien,  que  nuil  seignor  i  ait,  Ci  (sc.  n') 
a  fors  sol  une  pucelle,  Greg.  54-11. 
With  nus.  In  its  omission  with  nus,  one  can  hardly 
see  a  survival  of  the  Latin  negative  nullus,  for  in  French 
this  word  had  assumed  an  affirmative  meaning,  and  the 
ellipsis  occurs  nearly  as  often  with  onques,  which  was 
originally  affirmative : 

Ke  si  grant  barnages  ait  nul  rei  suz  eel,  Pel.  de  Ch. 
312  (diplomatic  text)  ;  IsTuls  hom  vidist  un  rey  tan  ric, 
Alberic  12 ;  Mes  se  mes  sire  estoit  or  morz,  De  moi  seroit 
nus  reconforz,  Erec  2971;  Mes  del  mangier  fu  nus  de- 
duiz;  Qu^il  n^i  ot  pain  ne  vin  ne  sel,  Ne  nape  ne  coutel 
ne  el,  Ch.  L.  3468 ;  Ki  vousist  ben  penser,  De  beivre  et 
de  manger  N^avereit  nul  desir  (in  MS.  iV"*  is  written  en), 
Omnip.  16d  (cf.  meter  ib.  69d,  e). 

With  onques: 

De  totes  parz  Pont  si  avironet  Que  a  vis  onques  i  pot 
hom  habiter,  St.  Alex.  115d;  Ainz  an  font  tel  joie  et  tel 

^On  the  other  hand,  la  may  he  used  superfluously: 
E  vint  k  Rome  quant  ele  pot  L^  o  ele  TApostoile  sot,  Gr6g. 
112-21;    A  tant  vers   la  chanbre   retorne  La  ou   mes  sire 
Yvains  sejorne,  Ch.  L.  1727;  Si  la  manroit  vers  un  pleissi6 
La,  ou  ele  Tavoit  leissi6,  ih.  4975. 

'  See  pp.  100  and  112,  and  Perle. 


The  Adverb.  115 

feste.  Come  il  onques  porent  greignor,  Clig.  4994 ;  Unkes 
petit  ne  grant  De  meseise  suffri  tant,  Omnip.  38d. 

After  craindre:  Ne  is  required  after  craindre  in  Old 
French  as  in  Modern  French.  But  few  omissions  are 
found : 

criem  qu'ele  seit  perdue,  Pel.  de  Ch.  322 ;  For  ce  qu'il 
iert  de  haut  parage,  Si  cremeit  aveir  hontage,  Que  ele  en 
fust  depeuplee  E  entre  la  gent  abaissee,  Ne  sis  freres  ne 
fust  honis,  Greg.  23-1;  Or  lairai  a  tant,  Ne  voil  dire 
avant,  Car  criem  quMl  enuit,  Reim.  129a;  Car  il  crient 
mout,  et  si  a  droit.  Que  morte  ou  afolee  soit,  Clig.  6059. 

With  avoir  and  que  expressing  a  lapse  of  time : 

Je  cuit  que  plus  de  cent  anz  a  Que  home  ne  feme  i 
entra,  Greg.  93-11. 

In  positive  comparisons  of  inequality,  ne  was  used  as 
it  is  to-day.  But  one  example  of  its  omission  has  been 
found : 

Mielz  sostendreiet  les  empedemenz  Qu^ele  ne  perdiesset 
sa  verginitet,  Ste.  Eul.  16  (ne  does  not  appear  in  the 
diplomatic  text). 

The  following  show  the  non-employment  of  this  ex- 
pletive after  a  negative,  as  in  Modem  French: 

Ne  plus  ne  se  pueent  pener  D'aus  anpirier  et  d^aus 
grever.  Que  il  se  painnent  et  travaillent,  Erec  5969;  Ne 
li  uns  Fautre  rien  n'esloche  Ne  plus  que  feist  une  roche, 
Clig.  1925;  Lors  ne  plest  le  roi  ne  agree  Que  plus  an 
facent  qu'il  ont  fet,  ib.  4962;  Onques  de  rien  ne  m'apar- 
gui  Ne  de  sa  fille  ne  de  lui.  Que  mains  volantiers  nie 
veissent  Ne  que  mains  d'enor  me  feissent,  Qu'il  avoient 
fet  Tautre  nuit,  Ch.  L.  565 ;  Ne  cuit  greignor  esfrois  feist. 
Que  li  jaianz  fist  au  cheoir,  ib.  4246. 

Ou. 

Ainc  dix  ne  fist  ce  regne,  Ne  par  terre  ne  par  mer, 
Se  f  i  quidoie  trover,  Ne  t'i  quessisge,  Auc.  35,  12. 


116  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

Plus  (Mes). 

Plus  (mes)  is  sometimes  omitted  between  ne  and 
que: 

Que  a  vos  ne  s^an  prant  nes  nne,  Ne  que  au  soloil  fet 
la  lune,  'Ne  de  biaute  ne  de  valor  .  .  .  Erec  833;  Wa- 
vriiez  vos  force  vers  nos  l!^e  qu'uns  aigniaus  contre  deus 
los,  ib.  4433;  Si  que  riens  antrer  n'i  pooit,  Se  par  dessore 
n'i  voloit,  Ne  que  s'il  fust  toz  clos  de  fer,  ib.  5743 ;  Et  sui 
je  done  por  ce  s'amie?  Nenil,  ne  qu^a  un  autre  sui, 
Clig.  916;  Que  ja  veoir  ne  le  porra  Nus  hon,  tant  et  les 
iauz  overz,  Ne  que  le  fust,  qui  est  coverz  De  I'escorce, 
qui  sor  lui  nest,  Ch.  L.  1034. 

The  Modern  French  ne  ,  ,  .  que  ("only^^),  elliptical 
for  ne  mes  (plus)  que^  had  already  developed  by  the 
twelfth  century: 

II  n'i  a  que  del  consirrer,  Ch.  L.  3119;  Si  n'i  ot  que 
de  Favaler  Le  pont  et  del  leissier  aler,  ib.  4165.* 

Si. 
Que  is  often  used  in  Old  French  in  the  sense  of  si  que : 

Des  espuruns  puint  Fauferant  Que  il  en  fist  raier  le 
sang,  Gorm.  16;  Hues  le  fiert  tut  a  bandun  Que  mort 
Pabat  as  piez  Gormund,  ib.  283 ;  Et  moi  recreant  et  lasse. 
Que  plus  ne  me  porrai  defandre,  Erec  5846;  S^antre- 
fierent  des  fers  tranchanz  Que  parmi  les  escuz  luisanz 
Passe  de  chascune  une  toise,  ib.  5945 ;  Ains  li  desronpent 

*  Cf .  Ne  li  uns  I'autre  rien  n'esloche  Ne  plus  que  feist  une 
roche,  Clig.  1925;  Qu'uns  cors  ne  puet  deus  cuers  avoir  .  .  . 
Ne  plus  que  les  voiz  qui  s'assanblent  Si  qu'une  chose  sole 
sanblent,  ib.  2847;  Que  ja  tant  hardi  n'i  avra,  Tant  con  la 
bataille  durra,  Qui  s'ost  movoir  por  nul  afeire  Ne  plus  qu'il 
s'oseroit  Fuel  treire,  ib.  4043;  Que  je  ne  sai  dire,  quel  part 
II  sont  al§  ne  plus  que  vos,  ib.  6604. 

"^  See  L.  Cledat's  article,  Les  vieilles  locutions  "  mais  que, 
ne  mais  que,''  in  Revue  de  philologie  frangaise,  vol.  20 
(1906),  p.  16. 

« Cf.  Si  n'i  a  mes  que  del  monter,  Ch.  L.  2623. 


The  Adverb.  117 

ses  dras,  qu'a  painnes  peiist  on  nouer  desus  el  plus  entier, 
et  que  li  sans  li  isgi  des  bras  .  .  .  qu'  apres  le  vallet 
peiist  on  suir  le  trace  du  sane,  Auc.  24,  3. 

Vite. 
The  omission  of  vite  evidently  occurs  in  Eol.  890 : 
Plus  cort  a  piet  que  ne  fait  una  chevals. 

NON-BEPETITION    OF    THE   ADVERb/ 

1.  Modifying  Verbs. 

The  non-repetition  of  an  adverb  modifying  a  verb 
regularly  occurs  after  the  second  verb  when  it  follows 
the  first  of  two  or  more  coordinate  verbs,  and  it  is  often 
omitted  with  the  first  verb  when  it  follows  the  second : 

E  li  promet  tres  bien  e  jure  .  .  .  Greg.  19-16;  Mais  la 
dame  dist  bien  e  jure  .  .  .  ib.  31-17;  Or  vos  aim  assez 
plus  et  pris,  Erec  672;  Or  ne  les  siut  plus  ne  convoie, 
Clig.  4206 ;  Et  les  janz  aimment  plus  et  prisent  Le  vif, 
qu'onques  le  mort  ne  firent,  Ch.  L.  2168;  Je  quier  ce, 
que  je  ne  vi  onques.  Mien  esciant,  ne  ne  conui,  ib.  4902 ; 
— Ainz  dit  qu^il  pause  et  cuide  bien  Que  .  .  .  Clig. 
4898;  Mes  sire  Yvains  plore  et  sospire  Si  fort,  qu'a 
painnes  li  puet  dire  .  .  .  Ch.  L.  2579. 

When  preceding  the  first  verb  it  is  sometimes  omitted 
before  the  second : ' 

Et  li  venz  durs  et  forz,  qui  tant  bruit  et  fremist,  Pel. 
de  Ch.  379;  Mels  vay  et  cort  del  an  primeyr  Que  altre 
emfes  del  seyentreyr,  Alberic  7.4;  Ne  vost  plus  sofrir  ne 
atandre,  Erec  1919;  Si  con  li  girfauz  grue  randone.  Qui 
de  loing  muet,  et  tant  Faproche,  Qu'il  la  cuide  prandre, 
et  n'i  toche;  Einsi  fuit  cil,  et  cil  le  chace  Si  pres,  qu'a 
po  qu'il  ne  I'anbrace,  Ch.  L.  882;  S'il  ne  viaut  sa  mort  et 
desirre,  ib.  1554. 

'  See  Hirschberg,  p.  33. 

"  More  often  when  a  second  adverb  or  a  pronoun  occurs 
with  it  before  the  verb;  see  below,  p.  118. 


118  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

The  adverb  i  is  usually  repeated  before  each  verb,  ex- 
cept when  these  verbs  refer  to  the  same  subject,  in  which 
case  it  is  generally  omitted  before  the  second  verb : 

Son  cors  medisme  i  assalt  et  requiert,  Eol.  2551;  Car 
tuit  i  forgent  et  martelent,  Clig.  4863;  Sor  la  fosse  sont 
li  baron  Qui  le  cors  i  couchent  et  metent,  ib.  6148. 

The  omission  of  i  with  one  or  more  of  several  verbs 
referring  to  different  subjects  is  seen  in  the  following 


Et  vint  i  Otes,  si  i  vint  Berengiers,  Et  vint  Sanson  et 
Anseis  li  fiers,  Rol.  795;  Mout  i  vint  a  riche  conroi  Li 
cuens  .  .  .  [Apres  i  vint  Menagormon  .  .  .]  Et  cil  de  la 
Haute  Montaingne  I  vint  a  mout  riche  conpaingne.  De 
Treverain  i  vint  li  cuens  .  .  .  Apres  vint  li  cuens  Gode- 
grains  .  .  .  Yint  Maheloas,  uns  hauz  ber,  Erec  1934; 
Cort  i  la  fille,  cort  la  mere,  Ch.  L.  4257. 

An  adverb  rarely  appears  only  before  the  second  verb : 
Gregoires  entent  e  bien  I'oi,  Greg.  92-19. 
When  preceding  a  past  participle,  an  adverb  need  not 
be  repeated  before  a  second  past  participle  used  in  con- 
junction with  the  same  auxiliary : 

S^ont  tant  anquis  et  demande  .  .  .  Clig.  4585;  Lors 
ont  par  tot  cerchie  et  quis  Et  reverchie  et  remiie,  Ch.  L. 
1186 ;  Si  fu  mout  feruz  et  botez,  ib.  1192. 

If  the  adverb  precedes  a  verb  together  with  another 
adverb  or  an  object  pronoun,  both  adverbs,  or  the  adverb 
and  the  pronoun,  are  very  often  left  to  be  understood  be- 
fore a  following  verb : 

Si  qu^il  ne  le  blesce  ne  quasse,  Clig.  714;  Qui  forment 
le  prisent  et  loent,  ib.  2208;  Et  mout  s'i  fie  et  asseiire, 
ib.  3233;  Que  nus  mal  n^i  antant  ne  pause,  ib.  5156;  Que 
je  n^i  muire  ne  estaingne,  ib.  5341 ;  Et  mout  se  travaille 
et  esforce,  ib.  6232;  Mes  n'i  areste  ne  demore,  Ch.  L. 
159;  M^i  enorastes  et  servistes,  ib.  1013. 


The  Adverb.  119 

Such  non-repetition  also  occurs  when  the  adverb  fol- 
lows the  first  verb: 

Gregoire  I'ot  bien  e  entent,  Greg.  55-15;  Car  il  ne 
Faimme  tant  ne  prise,  Ch.  L.  4118. 

In  the  following,  the  non-repetition  of  the  adverb  ne 
occurs  with  that  of  the  reflexive  pronoun  and  the  prefix 
entre  : 

Et  mervoille  est  .  .  .  Qu'il  ne  s^antracolent  et  beisent, 
Clig.  5127. 

Eepetitions  of  only  ne  are  rather  surprising :  * 

Mes  n^i  cesse  ne  ne  repose  De  joie  feire  et  de  chanter, 
Erec  6168;  Que  nus  n^i  maint  ne  ne  converse,  Clig.  5565; 
Si  qu^il  nel  blesce  ne  ne  quasse,  ib.  5615. 

When  se  .  .  .  non  refers  to  two  things,  non  follows 
the  first  and  is  not  repeated : 

Ne  eel  jor  ne  lor  lut  antandre  S^a  logier  non  et  as  trez 
tandre,  Clig.  1259;  C^est  uns  avoirs  qui  rien  ne  vaut, 
S'an  estor  non,  ou  an  assaut,  ib.  1305. 

Si  used  with  que  is  not  necessarily  repeated  with  the 
latter : 

Si  que  vers  lui  ne  se  deffandent  Et  que  an  sa  merci  se 
randent,  Ch.  L.  4555. 

In  the  following,  it  appears  before  only  the  first  of  the 
infinitives  to  which  it  relates : 

Car  tu  verras  si  foudroiier,  Vanter  et  arbres  pegoiier, 
Plovoir,  toner  et  espartir.  Que  .  .  .  Ch.  L.  401. 

So  tant  is  sometimes  not  repeated  before  each  que  in- 
troducing clauses  descriptive  of  it: 

Mes  mout  li  vient  a  grant  enui  Quant  ele  nel  siut  et 
convoie  Tant  qu^ele  sache  et  qu^ele  voie.  .  .  .  Erec  5870; 
Si  qu^onques  li  Grejois  nes  virent,  Tant  que  de  la  valee 
issirent  Et  que  li  nies  le  due  s^adresce,  Clig.  3417;  Jorz 

"  See  the  non-repetition  of  ne,  above,  p.  37. 


120  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

i  sejorna  ne  sai  quanz,  Tant  que  il  et  ses  lions  furent 
Gari  et  que  raler  s'an  durent,  Ch.  L.  4700. 

Haut  is  not  repeated  in  the  comparative  in  Ch.  L. 
1152: 

A  la  foiiee  s'escrioit  Si  haut,  qu'ele  ne  pooit  plus. 

2.  Modifying  Adjectives. 
An  adverb  modifying  several  adjectives  is  not  repeated 
when  placed  before  the  verb : 

Car  plus  le  trueve  bataillant.  Fort  et  legier  et  assail- 
lant,  Clig.  4127 ;  Car  mout  est  palie  et  changiee,  ib.  4355 ; 
Tant  f u  li  tans  pesmes  et  f orz,  Que  .  .  .  Ch.  L.  445 ;  Si 
me  leissa  honteus  et  mat  Qu^onques  puis  ne  me  regarda, 
ib.  542 ;  Mout  vint  sinple,  mate  et  teisanz,  ib.  3960. 

With  the  above  exception,  adverbs  qualifying  adjec- 
tives are,  in  general,  more  often  repeated  before  each 
adjective.    The  following  non-repetitions  may  be  noted : 

Assez:  Or  seit  fait  par  madraines,  Assez  creiides  et 
enligniedes  dames,  Rol.  3982. 

Mes:  Car  nus  n^est  mes  frans  ne  cortois,  Ch.  L.  4381. 

Mout:  Fu  mout  sotis  et  angigneus,  Erec  6717;  La 
porte  fu  mout  haute  et  lee,  Ch.  L.  907;  Mout  angoisseus 
et  antrepris  Remest  dedanz  la  sale  anclos,  ib.  962;  Ja 
verroiz  plainne  ceste  sale  De  jant  mout  enuieuse  et  male, 
ib.  1067;  Tant  qu^il  oi  anmi  le  gaut  Un  cri  mout  dole- 
reus  et  haut,  ib.  3343;  Qui  est  mout  bele  et  jante  et 
sage,  ib.  5717. 

8i:  Mes  ele  est  si  polie  et  droite,  Qu^  .  .  .  Clig.  782; 
Onques  nule  beste  sauvage  .  .  .  Ne  fu  si  ardanz  n'an- 
ragiee.  .  .  .  ib.  3700;  Cist  moz  li  est  si  douz  et  buens. 
Que  .  .  .  ib.  4386 ;  Et  ot  le  vis  si  pale  et  blanc  .  .  .  ib. 
5781. 

Also  when  used  with  que: 

Et  une  pucele  vint  ci,  li  plus  bele  riens  du  monde,  si 
que  nos  quidames  que  ce  fust  une  fee,  et  que  tos  cis  bos 
en  esclarci,  Auc.  22,  31. 


The  Adverb.  121 

Tant:  Estoit  tant  avenanz  et  bele,  Que  .  .  .  Clig. 
452;  Ne  tant  sotis  n^estes  et  sages,  Que  .  .  .  ib.  5581; 
Nus  horn  n'est  si  esbahis,  Tant  dolans  ni  entrepris  .  .  . 
Aug.  1,  10. 

Tot:  Qu^ele  est  tote  seiire  et  certe,  Que  .  .  .  Ch.  L. 
1741 ;  Et  li  sane  tot  chaut  et  boillant  Par  mainz  leus  fors 
des  cors  lor  bolent,  ib.  6210. 

Tres:  E-vos  Gregoire  molt  hontos  E  tres  pencis  e 
angoissos,  Greg.  51-13;  Et  fu  une  avenanz  brunete,  Tres 
sage  et  veziiee  et  cointe,  Ch.  L.  2416. 

Two  adverbs  together — the  first  relating  to  the  sec- 
ond— are  sometimes  not  repeated  before  the  second  ad- 
jective : 

Si  bien  parlant  et  anseigniee,  Ch.  L.  242. 

An  adverb  is  not  necessarily  repeated  with  the  same 
adjective  modifying  a  second  noun : 

S'i  ot  mout  grant  fole  et  grant  presse,  Ch.  L.  1091. 

3.  Modifying  Adverbs.*** 

The  repetition  of  an  adverb  does  not  necessitate  that 
of  another  adverb  qualifying  it: 

Plus  bele  assez  et  plus  cortoise,  Erec  823 ;  Cist  est  an 
toz  androiz  Assez  plus  janz  et  plus  adroiz,  Clig.  4775. 

^^'See  the  non-repetition  of  two  adverbs  together,  above, 
subdivision  2,  p.  121. 


CHAPTER  YIII. 
The  Preposition-. 

Except  in  certain  expressions^  true  ellipses  of  the 
preposition  are  rare;  but  the  state  of  the  language,  un- 
settled in  some  respects,  gives  rise  to  several  seeming 
omissions. 

1.  A.' 

The  preposition  a  is  evidently  omitted  in  the  follow- 
ing passages: 

As  premiers  cols  i  ont  ocis  Gnaltier,  (sc.  A)  Tnrpin  de 
Reins  tot  son  escnt  perciet,  Rol.  2076;  (sc.  a)  itant  de 
tens  Que  apris  ait  auques  de  sens  Quant  des  letres  auques 
saura,  Idonc  les  tables  conoistra,  Greg.  23-19. 

Nouns  which  explain  the  service  of  other  nouns — 
which  in  English  are  preceded  by  "  as  ''  or  "  for '' — ^may 
be  used  in  Old  French  without  the  preposition  a;" 

Ne  n^i  a  nule,  n'et  ami  Chevalier  vaillant  et  hardi, 
Erec  53 ;  Doner  li  volent  baron  Un  roi  de  paiiens  felon, 
Auc.  39,  28 ;  Si  li  veut  on  doner  cascun  jor  baron  un  des 
plus  haus  rois  de  tote  Espaigne,  ib.  40, 10. 

Avoir  non  is  doubtless  the  result  of  the  ellipsis  of  the 
preposition,  whose  use  still  survives  in  a  few  instances  in 
Old  French:' 

Fenice  ot  la  pucele  a  non,  Clig.  2725 ;  Aucassins  avoit 
a  non  li  damoisiax,  Auc.  2,  9. 

^For  the  omission  of  a  with  vostre  plaisir,  see  above, 
p.  94. 

^This  is  probably  not  because  of  an  ellipsis;  compare 
the  use  of  the  dative  of  purpose  in  Latin,  as  Optavitque 
locum  regno,  Aen.  3,  109. 

*  This  use  of  the  preposition  is  similar  to  its  use  in  sen- 
tences such  as  the  following:  Qu'ele  u  un  riche  conte  a 
frere,  Erec  1564. 


The  Preposition.  123 

Estre  a  vis  often  contracts  to  estre  vis: 

Mai  avons  fait,  ce  nos  est  vis^  Greg.  80-11 ;  Vis  m'est 
que  .  .  .  Erec  630;  Et  si  m^est  vis  que  .  .  .  ib.  1125. 

Favre  son  miauz  seems  to  have  developed  through  the 
ellipsis  of  the  preposition;  the  use  of  the  complete  form 
is  not  rare : 

Or  feites  au  miauz  que  porroiz,  Clig.  6585;  Feites  au 
miauz  que  vos  porroiz,  Ch.  L.  5554;  Et  cil  del  garir  se 
pena,  Tant  que  lor  plaies  ressena  Au  miauz  et  au  plus 
tost  qu'il  pot,  ib.  6507. 

After  jusque,  ordinarily  followed  by  a,  the  preposition 
is  occasionally  lacking :  * 

Jusque  none  des  lo  meidi,  Pass.  309;  Jusque  la  terre 
per  mei  fent,  ib.  328. 

It  is  not  required  after  jusque  followed  by  ci  or  la: 

Si  vos  ai  jusque  ci  norrie,  Clig.  3033;  Qui  ira  bien 
jusqu'a  la  cort  Le  roi  Artu  au  mien  espoir  Au  mains 
jusqu'a  demain  au  soir;  Que  jusque  la  n'iert  il  trovez, 
Ch.  L.  1828. 

Mervoilles  is  sometimes  used  without  the  preposition : 

Que  mervoilles  li  estoit  tart  Que  a  la  cort  le  roi  venist, 
Erec  1480 ;  Mervoilles  les  esgarda  Tan,  ib.  2006. 

In  expressions  of  time  the  preposition  may  be  omitted : 

le  matin  le  dirai,''  Pel.  de  Ch.  58 ;  Un  jor  de  Pasque,* 
.  .  .  Erec  27;  Toz  jorz  serai  mes  vostre  ancele/ ib.  4368; 

*  Ad  after  usque  is  found  in  Latin  with  reference  to  both 
time  and  place:  usque  ad  vesperum  pugnatum  est,  Caesar  1, 
50;  usque  ad  castra  hostium  accessit,  ib.  1,  51. 

''Cf.  Al  matinet  .  .  .  Esveilliez  est  li  emper^dre  Charles, 
Roi.  2845;  Et  dit  qu'il  le  convoiera  Au  matin  quant  il  s'an 
ira,  Erec  1427. 

•'Cf.  Am  se  paiierent  a  eel  jorn,  Pass.  208;  Co  6st  en  mai, 
al  premier  jorn  d'est^t,  Roi.  2628;  A  un  jor  de  Grece 
s'esloingne,  Clig.  2694;  Au  jor  qui  fu  nomez  et  pris,  ib. 
4629;  A  la  nuit  de  la  cort  s'an  anble,  ib.  6172. 

■^The  preposition  is  often  found  with  tozjorz,  as: 

A  tot  jors  mais  vos  son  penas  livreias,  Epoux  94. 


124  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

(together  with  the  article)  Un  en  aveie,  cil  fut  ocis  hier 
seir,'  Eol.  2745 ;  Car  hui  matin  vos  vi  plorer  des  oelz,  ib. 
3629. 

A  survival  of  the  Latin  eonstniction  is  seen  in  the  fre- 
quent expression  of  possession  without  the  aid  of  the 
prepositions  a  and  de: 

N"e  vos  chaille  de  Fanhatine  Mon  seignor  Keu,  le  se- 
neschal !  Ch.  L.  132 ;  Comant  puis  je  demorer  ci  Et  veoir 
les  choses  ma  dame,  ib.  3534;  Gauvains  ai  non,  fiz  le  roi 
Lot,  ib.  6267. 

The  Indirect  Object. 

A  substantive  indirect  object  need  not  be  preceded  by 
the  preposition  a: 

L^arcevesque  Turpin  comandet  seit  conduiz,  Pel.  de 
Ch.  202;  Totes  voz  anmes  otreit  il  paredis,  Eol.  1855; 
Toz  premerains  ?at  dit  I'emperedor,  ib.  2424;  si  priet 
damne  Deu  Que  .  .  .  ib.  2449 ;  Puis  li  a  fait  jurer  trea 
bien  Qu^il  ne  Tdira,  por  nule  rien,  Home  ne  feme  qui  seit 
nez,  Greg.  38-17;  Et  si  grant  enor  li  portassent,  Et  sa 
dame  tot  einsimant.  Con  le  suen  cors  demainnemant, 
Erec  1866;  Tot  ont  son  oste  presante,  ib.  1892;  Quant 
Deu  pleira,  ib.  2758;  Enide  (indirect  object)  par  le  frain 
le  rant,  ib.  4056 ;  Des  qu'il  est  mon  seignor  Gauvain,  ib. 
4073;  ceste  novele  Sera  ja  mon  seignor  mout  bele,  ib. 
4163;  L^antret  ont  le  roi  aporte,  ib.  4229;  Ja  a  contee  la 
novele  Le  roi  Artu,  ib.  4578;  Erec  an  pesa,  ib.  6524; 
An  avoit  fet  don  et  seisine  Le  roi  Artu,  ib.  6731;  Le  sert 
et  porte  grant  enor,  Con  Fan  doit  feire  son  buen  oste,  Ch. 
L.  5412. 

VemTj  when  expressing  motion  toward,  is  regularly 
followed  by  a,  but  occasionally  this  prepositional  con- 
struction is  replaced  by  the  dative  pronoun : 

*  Such  is,  no  doubt,  the  origin  of  the  expressions  hier  soir 
and  hui  matin  for  at  least  demain  au  soir  occurs:  Au  mains 
jusqu'a  demain  au  soir,  Ch.  L.  1830,  and  hier  au  soir  is 
found  later. 


The  Preposition.  125 

Devers  nn  gnalt  uns  granz  leon  li  vient,  Eol.  2549; 
a  esperun  Liir  vint  poignant,  Greg.  64-16 ;  Erec  lor  vint 
lance  sor  f autre,  Erec  4443 ;  Veez,  comant  il  les  antasse, 
Come  il  lor  vient,  come  il  lor  passe,  Ch.  L.  3217;  Les 
petiz  e  les  granz,  Yeir  les  enfanz  Li  sunt  venu  le  jor, 
Omnip.  93d. 

When  the  idea  is  figurative  the  preposition  is  less  fre- 
quently used: 

Ne  vos  puet  venir  enor  maire,  Greg.  67-10;  Certes  k 
merveile  me  vient  Coment  la  terre  me  sostient,  ib.  79-5 ; 
Granz  biens  vos  an  porra  venir,  Ch.  L.  1316;  Qu'a  grant 
mervoille  chascun  vient,  Qui  est  cil,  qui  se  contretient, 
ib.  6203. 

Demonstrative  personal  pronouns,  and  the  pronoun 
qui,  may  be  used  in  the  dative  case  without  being  pre- 
ceded by  a: 

Qu^il  doint  Tenor  de  la  bataille  Celui  qui  por  li  se  tra- 
vaille,  Erec  893;  Cesti  .  .  .  Donrai  je  del  blanc  cerf 
Tenor,  ib.  1778;  Demanda  li,  cui  il  estoit,  ib.  3218. 

The  stressed  form  of  the  dative  pronoun  preceding  the 
verb  is  usually  found  without  the  preposition,'  and  even 
when  it  follows  the  verb  directly  or  is  separated  from  it 
by  other  words  the  preposition  is  not  required :  " 

Eepaidret  lui  vigor  et  remembrance,  Eol.  3614;  Plai- 
roit  vos  oir  .  .  .?  Auc.  39,  16. — N^estuet  doter  ne  vos 
ne  lui^  Erec  5057;  Moi  plot  et  lui  de  Tautre  part,  ib. 
6283 ;  Qu'enor  te  feroie  et  moi  honte,  Clig.  4165. 

•Examples  of  its  use: 

Plus  haut  seignor,  qu'a  moi  n'afiert,  Avrai  au  jor  que  ce 
sera,  Ch.  L.  2130;  N'a  moi  n'ataint  n'a  moi  n'afiert.  Que 
.  .  .  ib.  4808. 

"  Cf.  Povretez  f et  mal  as  plusors  Et  autresi  fet  ele  a  moi, 
Erec  510;  II  n'out  point  deservi  Pur  go  semla  a  li  Sun  tur- 
ment  plus  fort,  Omnip.  82d. 


126  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

Omission  of  a  before  Dependent  Infinitives." 

Ellipses  of  this  sort  are  few : 

Lors  comancent  gresles  soner  Et  bnisines  par  tote  Post, 
Clig.  1476 ;  Qui  sa  fame  tolir  li  pause  ^^  Et  lui  ocirre 
sanz  defanse,  Erec  3433 ;  Et  s^il  vos  plest  nn  poi  atandre, 
ib.  1328;  Mes  totes  voies  Pesposa  Li  cuens,  qu'einsi  feire 
li  plot,  ib.  4772 ;  Se  li  pleiist  a  ce  antandre,  Clig.  454 ; 
Plairoit  vos  oir  nn  son  D^Ancassin  nn  franc  baron  .  .  .  ? 
Anc.  39,  16;  Si  com  desanz  Dieu  prist  loder,  St.  Leg. 
182. 

2.  2)e." 

The  preposition  is  required  in  the  following  passages : 

Les  rens  issi  corteisement,  Greg.  61-10;  S'aporta  un 
chapon  an  rost  .  .  .  Et  (sc.  de)  vin,  qui  fu  de  buene 
grape,  Plain  pot  d^un  blanc  henap  covert,  Ch.  L.  1048; 
S^ot  puis  tote  sa  livreison  Pain  a  plante  et  veneison,  ib. 
2885. 

Rien  meaning  "  at  all  "  is  less  usual  than  de  rien  : 

Que  rien  ne  prise  son  dangler,  Erec  816 ;  Se  vos  amez 
rien  vostre  cors,  ib.  5795. 

Adjectives  following  mie  and  rien  are  not  preceded 
by  de: 

"Ne  rien  n'i  a  egre  n'amere,  Clig.  3256;  Ne  li  ofrez 
mie  avenanz,  Ch.  L.  4800. 

Point,  strengthening  the  negative,  requires  the  prepo- 
sition before  the  noun  object.    The  use  of  the  preposition 

^  On  the  other  hand,  the  preposition  is  unnecessarily  used. 
Aimer  mielz  and  estovoir  regularly  require  no  preposition, 
but  the  infinitives  depending  on  them  are  preceded  by  a  in 
the  following  examples:  Encor  ameroie  je  mix  a  morir, 
Auc.  14,  12;  Del  mangier  a  purler  n'estuet,  Clig.  5038.  Two 
other  examples  of  estovoir  taking  a  are  found  in  Godefroy. 

"  Penser  may  take  either  a  or  de. 

"  See  the  ellipsis  of  the  preposition  a. 


The  Pbeposition.  127 

with  mie  is  more  general  in  the  earlier  poems  than  in  the 
twelfth  century.  Examples  of  the  omission  of  de  in 
such  cases  are: 

Et  cil  poingnent  tot  maintenant,  Que  demoree  n'i  ot 
point,  Clig.  4840;  Et  les  chevaus  mie  ne  let,  Erec  3076; 
Qui  sa  dolor  mie  ne  cele,  ib.  4612;  qu^il  n^a  mie  tort, 
Ch.  L.  2200. 

Before  past  participles  which  follow  nouns  expressed 
or  understood,  the  preposition  is  sometimes  used,  some- 
times omitted: 

Car  Isembarz  i  est  remes  Od  quarrante  milliers 
d^armes,  Gorm.  516;  De  eels  de  France  vint  milie  d^ado- 
bez,  Eol.  2777. — Deus !  tantes  hanstes  i  at  parmi  brisie- 
des,  ib.  3386 ;  Salmana  e  Zeb  Ot  cent  milie  armez  At 
Gedeon  pris,  Eeim.  47b. 

With  pres  and  loinz  the  dative  pronoun  is  often  used 
in  place  of  the  prepositional  construction : 

Cist  nos  sont  pr^s,  mais  trop  nos  est  loinz  Charles, 
Eol.  1100. 

Pres  governing  ci  and  iluec  does  not  usually  require 
the  preposition: 

Sont  ci  pres  an  une  gaudine,  Erec  4004;  Ci  pres  tro- 
veras  or  androit  un  santier,  Ch.  L.  374;  Qui  soz  Farbre 
ierent  iluec  pres,  Erec  3966. 

An  unusual  ellipsis  is  found  in  the  omission  of  the 
preposition  after  pres  governing  a  noun: 

Dune  s^adunevent  li  fellon,  Yedeir  alevent  pres  Jesum, 
Pass.  171. 

Milie  seldom  causes  the  noun  it  multiplies  to  be  pre- 
ceded by  de,  as  it  does  in  the  following  examples : 

EnsembFod  vos  quinze  milie  de  Frans,  Eol.  3019 ;  En- 
sembPod  els  quinze  milie  de  Frans,  ib.  3196. 


128  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

8'aprochier  regularly  requires  de  or  vers  before  the 
person  or  place  toward  which  motion  is  made.  The  prep- 
osition is  omitted  in  Erec  5894 : 

Erec  s'aproche  cele  part. 

Through  the  omission  of  de,  nouns  sometimes  assume 
the  role  of  adjectives : 

ISr^out  mantel  hermin,  Vair  ne  sabelin,  Reim.  36d; 
Puis  m'afubla  un  cort  mantel,  Ver  d'escarlate  peonace, 
Erec  232;  Si  soulevas  ton  train  Et  ton  pelicon  ermin, 
Auc.  11,  23. 

Pltis  is  used  in  the  sense  of  the  modern  de  plus: 

que  fereient  il  plus?  Rol.  2812;  Mar  i  avra  cop  feru 
plus,  Clig.  4966. 

With  Nouns  and  Adverbs  of  Quantity. 

With  most  nouns  and  adverbs  of  quantity,  de  more 
often  precedes  the  noun  to  which  they  refer."  Examples 
of  their  use  without  the  preposition  follow : 

Assez:  Assez  ont  venaison  de  cerf  et  de  sengler,  Pel. 
de  Ch.  834 ;  Jo  vos  donrai  or  et  argent  assez,  Rol.  75 ;  Ja 
redoter  ne  li  covient,  Que  assez  terre  ne  li  doingne,  Ch. 
L.  2506. 

Mout,  usually  separated  by  the  verb  from  the  noun  to 
which  it  refers,  is  used  without  the  preposition  more 
often  than  the  other  adverbs : 

Mout  avoit  le  jor  conqueste  Enor  et  joie  et  seignorage, 
Erec  1310;  Mout  ot  evesques  et  abez  Au  lit  seignier  et 
benei'r,  Clig.  3330;  Deduit  de  bois  et  de  riviere  I  ot 
mout,  qui  le  vest  avoir,  Ch.  L.  2468. 

Plus:  Ainz  a  plus  los  de  lui  atandre,  Clig.  4705;  Ja 
tant  n^i  porroiz   reverchier  .  .  .  Que  plus   trovoiz   ici 

"  ConHen,  but  little  used  in  the  earliest  writings  of  Old 
French  when  referring  to  nouns,  requires  the  preposition: 
ja  ne  savras  Conoistre,  conMen  tu  avras  De  proesce  ne  de 
vertu,  Clig.  2603. 


The  Preposition.  129 

estages,  ib.  5580;  Mes  per  ce  ne  fet  mie  a  croire,  Que  vos 
aiiez  plus  mal  de  moi,  Ch.  L.  3588. 

PoV":  Quant  paiien  vidrent  que  Franceis  i  out  poi 
.  .  .  Eol.  1940;  Car  n'i  avoit  mie  po  jant,  Erec  5125; 
Mout  ot  biaute  et  po  savoir,  Clig.  2772. 

Tant:  Tant  cos  d'espee  et  de  lance  Avoit  sor  son  escu 
eiiz  .  .  .  Erec  3976;  Tant  i  ot  Greus  et  tant  Tiois.  .  .  . 
Clig.  2704;  Que  tant  fera  conjuremanz  Et  poisons  et 
anchantemanz  .  .  .  ib.  3197. 

Trop,    The  omission  with  trop  is  rather  rare : 
go  dist  li  reis:  "Trop  avez  maltalent/'  Eol.  288;  Ce 
m'est  avis,  trop  i  a  letre,  Clig.  1412. 

The  definite  article  sometimes  accompanies  the  preposition 
used  with  the  nouns  and  adverbs  of  quantity — particularly 
assez — and  with  grant  masse,  as  well  when  there  is  no 
qualifying  adjunct  as  when  one  is  used: 

Assez  i  at  de  la  gent  paienor,  Rol.  2694;  Cll  uit  eschape- 
rent,  Qui  puis  engendrerent  Assez  des  enfanz,  Reim.  26a;  Et 
des  autres  barons  assez  I  ot  avuec  aus  amassez,  Erec  319; 
Chascuns  del  sane  grant  masse  i  pert,  ib.  970;  Des  barons 
i  ot,  ce  me  sanble,  Avuec  aus  grant  masse  venuz,  ib.  1092; 
Mes  des  rois  i  ot  ancor  plus,  ib.  1964;  Ancor  i  at  assez  del 
jor,  ib.  4016. 

De  occasionally  occurs  after  a  general  negation,  like 
the  modem  partitive  article : 

S^an  moi  n' avoit  de  hardemant  .  .  .  Erec  5856. 

3.  En. 

Croire  Deu  seems  to  have  existed  beside  croire  en  Deu: 
Li  reis  creit  Deu,  faire  voelt  son  servise,  Rol.  3666. 

"  Petit  in  the  sense  of  poi  regularly  requires  the  preposi- 
tion: 

Car  de  Franceis  i  at  assez  petit,  Rol.  1239;  se  Dex  m'otreie 
Que  un  sol  petit  de  sens  aie,  Gr6g.  81-11 ;  Que  grant  bien  vos 
fera,  ce  pans,  Anuit  un  petit  de  repos,  Erec  5118. 
9 


130  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

Compare  the  following  Old  Provengal  passage: 

Bos  cristias,  qui  ere  perf  eita  ment  Deu  la  patema  .  .  . 
Et  en  Ihesu,  Appel,  p.  149, 1.  150. 

4.  0. 

Ensemble  requires  o  before  its  object;  it  is  omitted  in 
the  following : 

Et  li  vaslet  les  chevans  tindrent  Qui  ansanble  Tescniier 
vindrent,  Erec  3167;  An  un  autre  lit  jut  delez  Enide 
ansanble  la  reine,  ib.  4276. 

5.  Par, 

One  does  not  often  meet  with  the  omission  of  the 
preposition  par;  possible  examples  are : 

Qo^st  sa  mercit  quMl  nos  consent  Fhonor/*  St.  Alex. 
73c;  (sc.  Par)  Cez  degrez  de  la  sale  vint  al  palais  errant, 
Set  milie  chevaliers  i  troverent  seanz,  Pel.  de  Ch.  335 ;  Et 
fist  trois  seiremanz  antiers  (sc.  par)  L'ame  Uterpan- 
dragon  son  pere  Et  la  son  fil  et  la  sa  mere,  Ch.  L.  662. 

Par  foi,  for  par  ma  foi,  is  further  shortened  to  the 
simple  foi: 

Foi  que  je  doi  Deu  et  ses  sainz,  Mout  a  anviz  la  leisse- 
roie  !   Ch.  L.  2530. 

Old  French  usage  does  not  require  the  preposition  in  the 
following  cases,  contrary  to  expectations: 

Tornez  ariere  les  chemins,  Gorm.  442;  Fuiant  s'en  turnent 
les  chemins,  ib.  449;  Tornez  ariere  les  estrees,  ib.  492;  par 
grant  vertut  chevalchent  Cez  veies  longes  et  cez  chemins 
mout  larges,  Rol.  2851;  Charles  chevalchet  et  les  vals  et  les 
monz,  ib.  3695;  Chevauchi§  ont  des  le  matin  Jusqu'au  vespre 
le  droit  chemin,  Erec  5367. 

"  Compare  examples  of  the  use  of  the  preposition : 

Ainz  preiet  Deu  qued  il  le  lor  pardoinst  Par  sa  mercit, 

quer  ne  sevent  que  font,  St.  Alex.  54d;  Rent  li  la  chartre 

par  la  toe  mercit,  ib.  74c. 


The  Preposition.  131 


6.  For. 

Either  'por  or  devant — probably  the  former — is  omitted 
in  Clig.  3848 : 

A  ce  me  sanble  que  je  voie  Les  chiens  foir  devant  le 
lievre  Et  la  tortre  chacier  le  bievre  .  .  .  Einsi  fuit  li 
vilains  sa  megle  .  .  .  Einsi  fnit  li  faucons  por  Pane  Et 
li  girfauz  por  le  heiron,  etc. 

Before  savoir,  the  omission  of  por  is  sometimes  found : 

Comencerent  a  apeler,  Saver  se  il  encore  vesquist, 
Greg.  104-24;  Des  or  mes  aler  m'an  covient  Veoir  les 
janz,  qui  leanz  sont,  Savoir,  quel  chiere  il  me  f assent, 
Ch.  L.  5342. 

Que  in  the  Sense  of  "  Why.'' 
The  use  of  qiie  in  the  sense  of  "  why ''  seems  to  be  due 
to  the  ellipsis  of  por."     Introducing  a  question  stated 

"  Tobler,  V.  B.  3,  37,  refers  it  to  the  Latin  use  of  quid. 

R.  Ritchie,  p.  73,  says  that  the  exclamatory  que  is  used 
but  little  except  after  the  interjections  Deus!  and  Ids!  and 
that  the  following  clause  adds  the  reason  for  the  call  upon 
God  and  for  the  exclamation  las! — thus  giving  que  the 
meaning  of  "because"  (je  suis  las  parce  que  .  .  .).  This 
theory  encounters  serious  objections.  Firstly,  it  is  Impos- 
sible that  que  has  this  meaning  in  several  cases  in  which 
no  interjection  precedes,  but  in  which  the  latter  fact  seems 
to  be  his  only  reason  for  supposing  this  word  not  to  be 
exclamatory,  and  which  may  consequently  be  considered  as 
the  same  que:  see  Clig.  6136,  Gr§g.  105-20,  Erec  4656,  Omnip. 
85a,  below.  Secondly,  in  all  the  examples  which  he  cites, 
the  idea  of  the  exclamatory  "  why  "  is  as  plausible  as  that 
of  "  because,"  particularly  as  por  que  sometimes  actually 
occurs  in  Old  French  after  the  interjection,  as  in  Pass.  316, 
below,  and  even  when  the  verb  is  negative,  as  in  Gr6g.  79-11, 
below — which,  according  to  Dr.  Ritchie,  is  generally  the 
case  after  the  exclamatory  que — while  in  certain  other 
cases  que  stands  for  a  preceding  por  que,  as  in  Ch.  L.  1227 
and  ib.  3547,  below.  It  is  also  important  that  por  que  in 
the  other  examples  cited  below  is  as  exclamatory  as  the 
que  to  which  reference  has  been  made,  and  might  easily 
have  replaced  it  in  these  instances. 


132  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

emphatically/'  which  borders  on  an  exclamation,  the 
preposition  bears  no  emphasis,  for  que  is  the  principal 
word  of  the  expression."  The  loss  of  the  preposition  is 
then  of  small  wonder. 

Lasse!  que  n^ai  nn  home  qui  m^ocidet!  Eol.  2723; 
Dens!  que  ne  sont  li  cors  si  pres,  Que  .  .  .  Clig.  4514; 
"Morz/^  fet  chascune,  "reangon  De  ma  dame  que  ne 
preis?''  ib.  6136. 

That  this  use  of  que  originated  in  the  omission  of  the 
preposition  seems  probable  on  examination  of  cases  in 
which  the  idea  is  expressed  by  por  with  que,  but  repeated 
by  que  alone: 

Por  qu^ies  vers  moi  acoardie.  Quant  vers  mon  seignor 
fus  hardie?  Chose  vainne,  chose  faillie,  Que  ne  t'ai  or 
an  ma  baillie !  Que  ne  te  puis  ore  tenir !  Ch.  L.  1227 ; 
Por  quoi  m^espamg?  que  ne  me  tu?  ib.  3547. 

Por  que,  even  when  expressing  some  emotion,  is  used 
not  only  in  sentences  in  which  the  verb  is  affirmative,  as 
in  the  above  examples — and  this  in  the  earliest  of  Old 
French,  as: 

Por  quei-m  tradis  en  ton  baisuol?  Pass.  150;  Heli, 
heli,  por  quei-m  werpis!  ib.  316;  Filz  Alexis,  por  quei 
t^portat  ta  medre  ?  St.  Alex.  27a — 

but  also  when  the  sentence  is  negative : 

Hai !  Dex,  por  quei  ne  me  donas  Que  je  morusse,  en 
elle  pas  Que  fu  batizee  et  levee,  Greg.  79-11. 

While  que  meaning  "why^^  usually  occurred  nega- 
tively, it  is  not  confined  to  the  negative  use : 

"Particularly  so  in:  EI  reis  amis,  que  vos  id  nen  estes! 
Rol.  1697. 

"No  longer  object  of  the  preposition,  que  does  not  develop 
into  quoi;  compare  its  use  in  such  sentences  as.  Que  dites- 
vous?  and  the  exclamatory  use  of  que:  Que  je  vous  plains, 
Madame!  Iphigenie,  act  2,  scene  1.  The  absence  of  pas  to- 
day in  sentences  introduced  by  que  ne  is  manifestly  not  due 
to  ellipsis. 


The  Preposition.  133 

E  quel  m^eschavissez  ensi?  Greg.  105-20;  Morz  que 
demore  et  que  atant  .  .  .  ?  Erec  4656;  A  tele  mort  le 
jugerent  E  go  li  agarderent  (Ke  volez  lunge  cunte?)  .  .  . 
Omnip.  85a ;  A  las !  ke  sui  vive  .  .  .  !  ib.  108b. 

Thus  por  que  may  be  used  in  every  case  in  which  this 
que  occurs.  If,  then,  this  que  is  a  survival  of  Latin  usage, 
there  is  no  apparent  reason  for  vrhich  it  is  so  nearly  uni- 
versally— especially  in  the  earliest  period — confined  to 
sentences  in  which  the  exclamatory  or  the  emotional  idea 
predominates,  whereas  it  is  in  precisely  such  sentences 
that  the  preposition  woidd  be  omitted. 

NON-REPETITION    OF    THE   PREPOSITION. 

The  non-repetition  of  the  preposition  is  unusual  ex- 
cept when  accompanied  by  that  of  some  other  word. 

IWhen  two  or  more  infinitives  having  a  common  ob- 
ject are  governed  by  the  same  preposition,  the  object  is 
ordinarily  placed  between  the  preposition  and  the  first 
infinitive  without  repeating  either  before  the  second 
infinitive : 

Por  lui  deduire  et  deporter,  Erec  3947 ;  Por  aus  con- 
duire  et  convoiier,  ib.  4297;  Granz  vitance  est  de  cheva- 
lier Nu  desvestir  et  puis  liier  Et  batre  si  vilainnemant, 
ib.  4413;  Por  la  joie  croistre  et  monter,  ib.  6330;  qui  ne 
repose  De  poisons  feire  et  atanprer,  Clig.  3248;  Mes  la 
parole  leissent  tuit  De  lui  loer  et  losangier,  ib.  5024. 

All  other  examples  of  the  non-repetition  of  the  prepo- 
sition, which  have  been  found,  follow : 

A. 

Par  molt  chieres  peintures  a  bestes  et  serpenz,^  A 
totes  creatures  et  a  oisels  volanz,  Pel.  de  Ch.  345 ;  Sante 

"  It  would  have  been  more  in  accordance  with  Old  French 
usage  if  the  editor  had  not  suppressed  the  preposition  be- 
fore serpenz,  which  is  expressed  in  the  diplomatic  text.  This 
is  also  true  concerning  the  repetition  of  the  preposition  de 
in  P61.  de  Ch.  224,  265,  706. 


134  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

li  doint  sainz  esperiz,  A  la  jantil  dame  et  la  sage,  Clig. 
5660  (here  the  repetition  of  the  preposition  would  be 
expected  since  the  article  is  repeated). 

Before  a  dependent  infinitive : 

Tei  covenist  helme  e  bronie  a  porter,  Espede  ceindre 
come  tui  altre  per,  St.  Alex.  83a;  Por  go  le  juz  a  pendre 
et  a  morir,  Et  son  cors  metre  el  champ  por  les  mastins, 
Eol.  3831 ;  Tant  a  a  dire  et  a  retreire  An  chascune  chose 
portreire,  Clig.  833 ;  Le  me  covandra  il  a  feire  Et  guerpir 
tot  le  mien  afeire,  ib.  5511 ;  Cele  se  test  ne  ne  lor  viee 
Sa  char  a  batre  ne  manmetre,  ib.  6014;  Et  il  lor  comande 
a  ovrir  Les  mantiaus  et  les  chies  lever,  Ch.  L.  3968. 

Ayres, 

Apres  le  travail  et  la  painne  Que  ele  avoit  le  jor  eii, 
Ch.  L.  4894. 

Avers, 

les  flors  des  margerites  .  .  .  estoient  droites  noires 
avers  ses  pies  et  ses  ganbes,  Auc.  12,  25. 

De, 

De  pain  et  vin  sanctifiet.  Pass.  97 ;  Mais  que  de  Sara- 
zins  et  paiens  nos  guardez,"^  Pel.  de  Ch.  224;  Troevent 
vergiers  plantez  de  pins  et  loriers  blans,^  ib.  265 ;  Sages 
fu  et  membrez  et  pleins  de  mal  et  viz,  ib.  438 ;  Portendue 
est  trestote  de  palies  et  cortines,"""  ib.  706;  Que  me  re- 
membre  de  sa  dolor  et  ire,  Qo^st  de  Basan  et  son  fredre 
Basilic,  Rol.  489;  E  neporquant  ne  li  defuit  Ne  de  sa 
boche  ne  son  desduit,  Greg.  8-13;  La  tierce  oevre  fu  de 
musique,  A  cui  toz  li  deduiz  s'acorde,  Chanz  et  deschanz, 
et  sons  de  corde,  De  harpe,  de  rote  et  viele,  Erec  6770; 
De  quanque  ele  les  requiert,  Et  quanque  fu  et  quanque 
iert,  Li  font  certainnement  savoir,  ib.  6787;  De  bien 
faire  et  bien  dire  chascune  s^aparoille,  Evangile  anx 
Femmes  (Constans^  Ohrest.,  p.  Ill,  1.  26). 


The  Preposition.  135 

Delez. 

Li  un  delez  le  bois  se  tindrent,  Li  autre  la  riviere  vin- 
drent,  Clig.  1735. 

En, 

En  une  feit,  une  vertet  Tuit  soi  fedeil  deivent  ester; 
Li  sues  regnez  non  est  devis,  En  charitet  toz  est  nniz, 
Pass.  273;  K^en  charnel  delit  Metent  trop  lur  quer,  En 
beivre  e  en  manger,  En  trop  reposer,  E  swef  dras  afnbler, 
Omnip.  62b. 

Entre, 

Because  of  its  meaning,  entre  is  naturally  not  required 
before  the  second  object : 

Antre  cez  diz  et  cez  tangons  Revint  Erec  de  pasmei- 
sons,  Erec  4853. 

0. 

0  grant  processiun  E  joie  e  changun,  Omnip.  92a; 
Od  noise  e  grant  cri,  ib.  96d;  so  ib.  102f. 

In  the  following  quotation  it  is  uncertain  whether  the 
ellipsis  is  that  of  the  preposition  or  of  the  verb : 

Montet  li  reis  od  ses  homes  trestoz,  Et  Bramimonde, 
qu^il  meinet  en  sa  prison,  Rol.  3679. 


Par. 

se  je  li  pooie  dire,  par  quoi  il  ne  s^aperceiisgent,  et 
qu^ele  s'en  gardast,  Auc.  14,  30. 

In  the  expression  par  un  et  un  the  preposition  is  not 
repeated : 

A  mon  seignor  Gauvain  s'acointe  Et  as  autres  par  un 
et  un,  Clig.  394;  Ses  ancontre  par  un  et  un,  ib.  3722. 


136  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 


For. 

Pro  Deu  anrnr  et  pro  diristian  poblo  et  nostro  com- 
mun  salvament,  Serments  Strasb.  1;  Ne  por  or  ned  ar- 
gent ne  paremenz,  Por  menace  reiiel  ne  preiement,  Ste. 
Eul.  7. 

The  other  examples  are  of  the  non-repetition  of  por 
before  a  second  infinitive: 

Por  orellier  et  escouter  .  .  .  Erec  133 ;  Ne  vos  ai  rien 
dit  par  orguel,  Mes  por  savoir  et  esprover  .  .  .  ib.  3368 ; 
Et  comanda  une  esche  esprandre,  Por  alumer  et  clarte 
feire,  ib.  5129;  Especes  i  met  a  foison  Por  adoucir  et 
atanprer,  Clig.  3252 ;  Ke  quistrent  nostre  sire  Nent  sule- 
ment  pur  occire  .  .  .  Mes  crucifier  Pur  lungement  pener, 
Omnip.  83d. 

8anz, 

Sanz  cupe  e  resun  E  sanz  nul'  achesun  Fu  il  mis  i 
mort,  Omnip.  81a. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

The  Conjunction. 

The  simple  ellipsis  of  the  conjunction  *'  is  limited  to 
the  omission  of  et,  que  and  se. 

Et 

Not  only  when  connecting  clauses,  but  also  when  con- 
•  necting  words  and  phrases,  the  conjunction  e^  is  found 
omitted  in  Old  French.     The  rhetorical  value  of  its 
omission  may  be  the  cause  in  certain  cases : 

A  fou  a  flamme  vait  ardant,  St.  Leg.  133;  A  grant 
furor,  a  grant  flaiel.  Si  I'recomandet  Lodebert,  ib.  193 ; 
Ad  encensiers,  ad  ories  chandelabres  .  .  .  Metent  le  cors 
enz  el  sarcou  de  marbre,  St.  Alex.  117a;  Vont  sei  entre- 
baisier,  noveles  demander.  Pel.  de  Ch.  147 ;  Si  longement 
toz  tens  m'avez  servit.  Ad  oes  Charlon  si  granz  pais  con- 
quis!  Kol.  1858;  Tolez  les  seles,  les  freins  qu^il  ont  es 
chies,  ib.  2485 ;  Quant  il  fu  tiels  qu'il  puet  aprendre,  A 
ses  letres  un  poi  atendre,  Greg.  41-5;  Li  peeheres  qui 
povres  fu,  Qui  les  X  mars  aveit  ^u  .  .  .  ib.  42-5;  Si  li 
aporte  isnelement  Les  tables  qu'il  ot  gardees  Qui  el  ber- 
suel  furent  trovees,  ib.  49-16;  Sachez  que  je  sui  ci  pe- 
chables  Dont  Festoire  est  escrite  es  tables,  Dont  oissez 
merveiles  e  duel,  ib.  77-23;  (Pria)  Que  Dex  Ten  rendist 
guerredon,  Consente  le  en  sa  maison,  ib.  86-3;  Noe,  ses 
treis  fiz.  Quant  vint  li  periz.  Volt  deus  retenir.  Lor  quatre 
moilliers,  Eeim.  24a;  Or  fait  um  gardins,  Vingnes  e 
molins,  Granz  palais,  granz  tors,  ib.  88a;  Enide  ot  la 
noise  et  le  bruit  De  lor  armes,  de  lor  chevaus,  Erec  3548. 

^»  The  conjunction  ne  need  not  precede  the  first  of  a  series 
of  objects  or  predicate  words  following  a  negative  verb: 

N'odrat  de  nos  paroles  ne  novdles,  Rol.  55;  N'i  perdrat 
Charles  .  .  .  palefreit  ne  destrier,  ib.  755  (cf.  Ne  n'i  perdrat 
ne  roncin  ne  somier,  ib.  758) ;  Qu'il  n'est  onbrages  ne  restis, 
Erec  1397;  Qui  n'estoient  fausses  ne  faintes,  Ch.  L.  4388. 


138  Ellipsis  m  Old  French. 

Que.''' 

The  conjunction  que  is  unnecessary  in  Old  French 
under  nearly  all  circumstances. 
Introducing  an  object  clause : 

Isembarz  veit  n^i  metra  fin,  Gorm.  450;  L^arcevesque 
Turpin  comandet  seit  conduiz  .  .  .  Pel.  de  Ch.  202 ;  ne 
puis  laissier  nel  die,  ib.  683 ;  Or  set  li  coens  Bernarz,  lui 
estoet  comencier,  ib.  771 ;  ne  poet  muder  n^en  plort,  Eol. 
825;  Marsilion  de  meie  part  nonciez  Contre  Franceis  li 
sui  venuz  aidier,  ib.  2674;  Mes  je  criem  bien,  ne  vos 
enuit,  Erec  2543 ;  Gardez  ja  n'an  parlez  a  moi,  ib.  2772 ; 
Je  quid,  dix  le  veut  avoir,  Auc.  25,  5. 

Introducing  a  clause  explanatory  of  a  preceding  word, 
expressed  or  understood : 

Mielz  te  furet  non  fusses  nez,  Pass.  151;  Qo  fut  loncs 
temps  od  sei  lo  tint,  St.  Leg.  28 ;  Qo  li  preiet  laissast  lo 
tot,  ib.  106;  Qo  Pdemonstrat  amis  li  fust,  ib.  112;  Ploiist 
al  rei  de  gloire,  de  sainte  maiestet,  Charlemaignes,  mis 
sire,  Toiist  ore  achetet,  Pel.  de  Ch.  450;  Merveile  est  de 
duel  n^enrage,  Greg.  28-2. 

Introducing  a  clause  modifying  an  adjective: 

Por  la  vestre  amistet  prez  sui  la  meie  port.  Pel.  de  Ch. 
806;  Se  li  reis  voelt,  prez  sui  por  vos  le  face,  Eol.  316. 

Introducing  a  clause  (1)  after  si: 

De  nos  pechiez  somes  si  avoglet.  La  dreite  vide  nos 
font  tresoblider,  St.  Alex.  124c;  Ad  icest  mot  si  s^esbal- 
dissent  Franc,  Cel  n^en  i  at  Monjoie  ne  demant,  Eol. 
1481. 

(2)  after  tant: 

Tant  Fas  celet  molt  i  as  grant  pechiet,  St.  Alex.  64e ; 
Tant  sui  jo  plus  dolenz,  Ne  puis  a  vos  tenir  lone  parle- 
ment,  Eol.  2835. 

^^^  See  Ritchie,  p.  128  ff. 


The  Conjunction.  139 

(3)  after  tel: 

De  Sarrazins  vedrat  tel  discipline,  Centre  nn  des  noz 
en  troverat  morz  qninze,  Eol.  1929;  De  Durendal  li 
donat  nn  colp  tel  Le  destre  poing  li  at  del  cors  sevret,  ib. 
2780. 

(4)   after  a  general  negation: 

Qu'il  ne  vienent  a  eve,  n'en  partissent  li  guet,  Ne  n'en- 
contrent  avogle,  ne  seit  renluminez,  Pel.  de  Ch.  256; 
Nul  leu  n'avoit  tornoiemant  Nes  i  anvoiast  richemant 
Aparelliez  et  atornez,  Erec  2453. 

Que  is  not  usually  employed  with  the  third  person  of 
the  present  subjunctive  used  imperatively : 

Pregnet  li  reis  sa  fille,  Pel.  de  Ch.  486;  La  soit,  Clig. 
4520. 

Introducing  the  second  clause  of  comparison: 

Et  la  luors  de  sa  biaute  Eant  el  pales  plus  grant  clarte, 
Ne  feissent  quatre  escharboncle,  Clig.  2749. 

Introducing  a  clause  of  purpose : 

Or  guart  chascuns  que  granz  cols  i  empleit,  Male  chan- 
gon  ja  chantede  n'en  seit,  Eol.  1013. 

The  conjunction  is  unnecessary  in  indirect  discourse — 
e.  g.,  Qo  li  preiet  laissast  lo  tot,  St.  Leg.  28.  Tobler* 
shows  that  both  its  use  and  its  omission  are  found  in 
direct  discourse,  and  cites,  among  others,  the  example, 

Et  li  unt  di(s)t:  Joseph,  de  fi,  Sire,  nous  te  crions 
merci.  Quant  Joseph  a  ce  entendu,  Mout  liez  et  mout 
joianz  en  fu  Et  dist  que  "  ce  n'est  pas  a  moi,  Meis  au 
seigneur  en  cui  je  croi,^^  S.  Graal  2321. 

Ainz  is  not  frequently  used  for  the  temporal  conjunc- 
tion ainz  que: 

Mes  por  ce,  que  nos  ne  veimes  Ma  dame,  ainz  fustes 
vos  levez,  Ch.  L.  84. 

«V.  B.  1,  216  ff  (article  39). 


140  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

After  a  poi,  por  poi,  the  conjunction  is  often  omitted : 

A  poi  le  cuer  ne  li  part  d^ire,  Greg.  12-14;  Que  por 
po  ne  li  fant  par  mi  Li  cuers,  Ch.  L.  408. 

Both  fors  and  fors  que '  are  used  in  the  same  sense : 

Eien  ne  pueent  veoir  mi  oel  Fors  une  chose  qui  me 
pleise,  Clig.  5424 ;  II  n'avoit  nul  oir,  ne  fil  ne  fille,  fors 
un  seul  vallet,  Auc.  2,  8 ;  Ne  nus  ne  s^i  porroit  fier  Fors 
moi,  Ch.  L.  352. 

Que  may  be  suppressed  in  ne  mais  que: 

E  dist  Ernouz :  "  Estez  mei  ci,  Meie  ert  la  terre  e  li 
pais,  Que  nen  suleie  hume  servir  Ne  mais  sul  Deu  qui  ne 
menti,  E  Fempereur  Loevis,  Gorm.  174. 

Por  ce  is  not  usual  for  por  ce  que: 

Que  puis  ne  puissent,  par  nul  plait,  De  lor  pech^  merci 
crier,  Por  ce  n^ont  cure  d^amender,  Greg.  2-16. 

Que  ne — "  unless  '^ — may  be  expressed  by  ne  alone : 

Ja  ne  morreit  en  estrange  regnet  Ne  trespassast  ses 
homes  et  ses  pers,  Eol.  2864. 

Se, 

Omission  of  the  conjunction  se: 

Ne  Fconoisseie  plus  qu'onques  ne  Fvedisse,  St.  Alex. 
87e;  Au  roi  an  ala  congie  prandre  Que  a  sa  cort,  ne  li 
grevast,  Ses  noces  f eire  li  leissast,  Erec  1920 ;  Aussi  come 
por  soheidier  Seroit  feite  ceste  besoingne,  Clig.  5446. 

non-repetition  of  the  conjunction. 
The  non-repetition  of  the  conjunction  is  not  an  un- 
usual ellipsis.     Some  conjunctions  are  more  often  not 
repeated  than  otherwise;  such  are  come,  des  que,  quant, 
que  que  and  se  (si)  meaning  "  and  '^  and  "  if.'' 

•EJxamples  of  the  use  of  fors  que: 

Que  nus  ne  le  sot  fors  que  nos,  Erec  6287;  Ne  de  lui  ne 
veomes  rien  Fors  que  les  esperons  tranchiez,  Ch.  L.  1124; 
Et  je  n'oi  consoil  ne  aie  Fors  que  moi  sole,  ib.  3676. 


The  Conjunction.  141 

Come, 

Oil  com  sonent  et  boglent  et  tonent  ensement  Com 
tabors  o  toneires  o  granz  cloche  qui  pent.  Pel.  de  Ch. 
358;  Cliges  ot  que  cil  le  leidange  Come  fos  et  mal  afei- 
tiez,  Clig.  3492;  Puis  Fanbraga  parmi  les  flans  Li  rois 
come  jantis  et  frans,  Ch.  L.  2385. 

Des  qwe. 

"  Keus/^  f  et  li  rois,  "  des  qu'il  vos  plest  Et  devant  toz 
Tavez  rovee  .  .  '^  Ch.  L.  2236;  Car  des  que  il  le  tint  as 
mains  Et  il  furent  seul  per  a  per,  W\  ot  neant  de  I'es- 
chaper,  ib.  3282;  Mes  or  iert  mes  sire  Yvains  fos,  Des 
qu'il  li  a  tome  le  dos,  Et  voit  le  col  nu  a  delivre,  Se 
longuemant  le  leisse  vivre,  ib.  5649. 

Entreusque, 

Entreusque  Aucassins  estoit  en  le  canbre,  et  il  regre- 
toit  Nicolete  s^amie,  li  quens  Bougars  de  Valence  .  .  . 
ne  s'oblia  mie,  Auc.  8,  1. 

Et 

Though  not  rare,  the  non-repetition  of  et  is  found  less 
than  might  be  judged  from  the  frequent  occurrence  of 
its  simple  omission: 

Et  benediet  Charlon  et  Prance  dolce,  Son  conpaignon 
Rollant  desor  toz  homes,  Rol.  2017;  Et  bien  savoit  qu'il 
seroit  rois  Et  ele  mei'sme  enoree  Riche  reine  coronee, 
Erec  688;  Tant  se  sont  martele  les  danz  Et  les  joies  et 
les  nasez  Et  poinz  et  braz  et  plus  assez,  Tanples  et  hate- 
riaus  et  cos.  Que  .  .  .  ib.  5974;  Toz  jorz  doit  puir  li 
fumiers  Et  taons  poindre  et  maloz  bruire,  Enuieus 
enuiier  et  nuire,  Ch.  L.  116. 

Jusqu'a  tant  que, 

Mes  por  neant  vos  esmaiiez  Jusqu'a  tant  que  veil  aiiez 
Que  mes  escuz  iert  depeciez  Et  je  dedanz  le  cors  bleciez, 
Et  vos  verroiz  covrir  de  sane  Les  mailles  de  mon  hauberc 
blanc,  Erec  5839  (notwithstanding  the  change  in  mood 
from  subjunctive — miez — to  indicative — verroiz) . 


142  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

Ne. 

Ne  por  or  ned  argent  ne  paremenz,  For  menace  reiiel 
ne  preiement,  Ste.  Enl.  7;  Ne  Tamerai  a  trestot  mon 
vivant,  Ne  Olivier,  por  go  qu^est  ses  compaing,  Les  doze 
pers,  por  go  qn^il  Faiment  tant,  Eol.  284 ;  N^avoit  chastel, 
vile  ne  tor,  Ke  meison  fort  ne  abeie,  Ospital  ne  herberge- 
rie,  Erec  3138. 

Quant. 

Quant  jo  serai  en  la  bataille  grant,  Et  jo  ferrai  et  mil 
cols  et  set  cenz,  De  Durendal  vedrez  Tacier  sanglent,  Eol. 
1077;  Se  je  m^an  vois,  je  revandrai  Quant  Deu  pleira 
et  je  porrai,  Erec  2757;  Quant  de  Bretaigne  revenoient 
Et  lor  seignor  an  amenoient,  Clig.  2411 ;  Quant  mes  mois 
sera  conplis,  Et  je  serai  bien  garis,  Auc.  29,  9. 

Que." 

Quer  toit  en  ont  lor  voiz  si  atempredes  Que  toit  le 
plainstrent  et  toit  le  doloserent,  St.  Alex.  119c;  Mande 
que  a  lui  parler  vaingne  Ne  ses  traitors  ne  retaingne, 
Clig.  1365;  S^est  droiz  qu^an  reverance  Pet  Et  mout  le 
crieme  et  mout  Penort,  ib.  3890. 

In  faire  que  sages,  etc.,  the  adverbial  conjunction  que  ° 
need  not  be  repeated: 

Que  fel  fesoie  et  desleaus  Et  traitres  et  forsenez,  Eree 
3650. 

Que  que. 

Que  que  il  son  conte  contoit,  Et  la  reine  Tescoutoit,  Si 
s'est  de  lez  le  roi  levee,  Ch.  L.  61. 

*  On  the  other  hand,  que  is  in  many  instances  incorrectly 
repeated  (see  Ritchie,  p.  169) : 

Et  sachiez  bien  certainnemant.  Que  se  vos  ne  m'i  anvoiiez 
Et  le  don  ne  m'an  otroiiez,  Que  j'irai  sanz  vostre  congi6, 
Clig.  4262;  Garins  lor  avoit  comand6  que,  se  il  le  pooient 
prendre,  qu'il  I'ocesissent,  Auc.  14,  25. 

^  See  above,  pp.  109-111. 


The  Conjunction.  143 

Se  {Si). 

(1)  Meaning  ^^  if  ^^: 

Et  sachiez  bien  certainnemant,  Que  se  vos  ne  m'i  an- 
voiiez  Et  le  don  ne  m'an  otroiiez  .  .  .  Clig.  4262;  il  n'a 
mie  tort,  Se  il  se  prise  et  il  se  vante,  Ch.  L.  2200 ;  Se  tu 
ton  lion  ne  chasties  Et  tu  nel  fes  an  pes  ester  .  .  .  ib. 
4460. 

(2)  Meaning '' and '' : 

Si  recevrez  la  lei  de  chrestiiens,  Serez  ses  horn  par 
honor  et  par  bien,  Eol.  38 ;  Si  recevrai  la  chrestiiene  lei, 
Serai  ses  horn  par  amor  et  par  feit,  ib.  85. 

(3)  Meaning  "whether,^^  the  repetition  is  more  cus- 
tomary : 

car  me  mostres  De  qui  ce  fu,  ce  vos  sav^s,  Qu'il  fu, 
que  devint  ou  verti ;  Se  il  fu  mors  ou  il  gari,  Greg.  51-3 ; 
!N"e  siet  se  mors  fu  o  vesqui,  ib.  112-18. 

The  ellipsis  is  more  striking  when  the  subject  pronoun 
is  repeated,  as  in  Ch.  L.  2200,  ib.  4460  and  Greg.  51-3, 
above. 

Tant  que. 

La  chace  mout  longuemant  dure  Tant  que  cil,  qui 
fuient,  estanchent  Et  cil,  qui  chacent,  les  detranchent, 
Ch.  L.  3264;  Cele  part  a  esperone,  Tant  qu'ele  aproche 
vers  un  pont  Et  vit  .  .  .  ib.  4876 ;  Et  ele  de  Perrer  s^es- 
ploite  Vers  le  chastel  la  voie  droite,  Tant  qu^ele  i  vint  et 
demanda  .  .  .  ib.  4939. 

Conjunctions  Eeplaced  by  que!" 

In  the  early  language,  que  is  very  rarely  substituted 
for  the  repeated  conjunction,  as  is  so  usual  in  Modern 
French;  but,  in  the  case  of  a  compound  conjunction,  as 

"  See  Hirschberg,  p.  41,  and  Ritchie,  p.  164  ff. 


144  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

por  ce  que,  tant  qiie,^  que  alone  more  often  precedes  the 
second  clause. 

Por  ce  que, 

Et  mes  sire  Yvains  an  anvoie  Devant  la  rote  nn  es- 
cuiier,  Qui  portoit  un  faucon  gruiier,  Por  ce,  que  il  ne 
sospreissent  La  dame,  et  que  ses  janz  feissent  Contre  le 
roi  les  rues  beles,  Ch.  L.  2314. 

Se, 

Se  ici  n^eiist  fors  que  toi,  Que  sens  fusses  et  sanz  aie. 
Mar  fust  feite  ceste  anvaie,  Erec  5035. 

^  See  the  non-repetition  of  the  adverb  tant,  p.  119. 


CHAPTEE  X. 
The  Phrase. 

Omissions  of  groups  of  words  of  which  the  principal 
interest  of  the  ellipsis  lies  in  one  word,  while  the  omis- 
sion of  the  others  necessarily  follows,  have  been  treated 
in  the  chapter  under  which  this  word  falls.  But  when 
the  importance  of  the  ellipsis  consists  in  the  omission  of 
all  the  words  equally — as  de  tens,  d'ore  in  Quant  les  ot 
o'iz  une  piece ,  Ch.  L.  6366 — it  is  discussed  in  the  present 
chapter. 

Au  is  often  omitted  in  the  expression  au  plus  tost 
qu'il  pot:^ 

S'an  est  issnz  plus  tost  quMl  pot,  Erec  3701 ;  Plus  tost 
qu'il  pot  au  mur  se  prant,  ib.  6482;  Eevenu  sont  plus 
tost  qu'il  porent,  Clig.  4615;  A  I'avesprer  plus  tost  qu'il 
pot  Est  repeiriez  a  son  repeire,  ib.  4812. 

Similarly,  it  is  omitted  in  the  following: 

Que  plus  lieemant  se  contint  Qu'ele  pot,  Erec  2683. 

Au  may  be  omitted  with  mien  escient : ' 

Por  ce  mien  esciant  cuit  gie,  Que  .  .  .  Ch.  L.  1771; 
Je  quier  ce,  que  je  ne  vi  onques,  Mien  esciant,  ne  ne 
conui,  ib.  4902. 

De  cheminer,  de  chevauchier,  de  dire  are  the  phrases 
most  often  omitted  depending  on  the  verb  finer:* 

An  une  forest  autre  sont,  Jusque  vers  prime  ne 
finerent.      Par   la   forest   tant   cheminerent  .  .  .  Erec 

*Cf.  Qu'au  plus  tost  qu'il  porra  retort,  Erec  2285;  De  la 
tor  se  sont  aprochi§  Au  plus  tost  que  il  onques  porent,  Clig. 
6218. 

*Cf.  Come  onques  au  mien  esciant  Chevaliers  sor  sele  ne 
sist,  Qui  .  .  .  Ch.  L.  1290. 

*Cf.  Ainz  ne  fina  de  cheminer  Tant  que  il  vint  an  une 
plainne,  Erec  3936. 
10 


146  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

4308;  Et  dient  tnit,  qn^onques  ne  finent:    ^^Deus  saut 
celui  .  .  /^  ib.  6374;  Li  dui  anpereor  clieminent,  Jusque 
outre  Eeneborc  ne  finent^  Clig.  3395. 
De  (sa)  color: 

Cum  aviez  la  face  clere  La  chiere  bele  e  culuree,  Cum 
Tavez  ja  teinte  e  muee !  Gorm.  481 ;  Si  est  forment  muee 
e  teinte,  Greg.  10-18 ;  An  sa  color  ses  mans  apert,  Car 
mout  est  palie  et  changiee,  Clig.  4354.* 

De  nature: 

Encore  fist  li  enemis  .  .  .  Greg.  3-13;  E  le  frere  li 
enemis  De  sa  seror  si  fort  mespris  .  .  .  ib.  8-1 ;  Done  fu 
joios  li  enemis,  ib.  9-21." 

D'ore,  de  tens  is  often  left  to  be  understood :  * 

Et  or  sai  bien  n'avons  guaires  a  vivre,  Rol.  1923 ;  Trop 
a  mis  a  li  atomer,  Erec  2669 ;  eingois  grant  piece  qn'il 
fust  jorz  .  .  .  Clig.  1804;  Quant  li  rois  esgardez  les  ot 
Une  piece  .  .  .  ib.  4951;  C'est  granz  diaus,  que  po  a 
vescu,  Ch.  L.  2095;  S^un  po  eiissiez  plus  est6  .  .  .  ib. 
4406;  Sire,  il  avint  mout  grant  pieg'a  Que  .  .  .  ib. 
5256. 

After  comparisons,  phrases — such  as  de  lui,  d'els, 
etc. — ^may  remain  unexpressed : 

Un  almagor  i  at  de  Moriane:  W2A,  plus  felon  en  la 
terre  d^Espaigne,  Eol.  909 ;  De  plus  felons  n'odrez  parler 
jamais,  ib.  3248. 

Many  other  phrases,  introduced  by  the  preposition  de, 
axe  omitted  in  Old  French,  of  which  a  few  examples 
follow : 

*Thus  cTiangier  and  muer  are  regularly  employed  in 
speaking  of  one's  appearance,  and  refer  to  the  color,  as: 

La  face  .  .  .  fu  tote  mu6e  e  perrie  De  sa  color,  Gr6g.  5-23; 
E  vit  la  dame  neire  e  teinte  ...  Or  estes  ja  tote  mu6e 
E  pale  e  decolor^e,  ib.  74-16  to  75-7. 

■^Cf.  E  li  enemis  de  nature,  Gr6g.  8-17. 

•Of.  Un  petit  d'ore  sont  arm6,  Gr6g.  59-11;  D6s  iluec  n'ot 
qu'un  poi  de  tens,  lb.  68-3;  Or  m*a  an  po  d'ore  abeissiee, 
Erec  2784;  and  Modern  French  pidga,  avant  peu^  sous  pett, 
un  peu.    See  Tobler,  V.  B.  2,  1  (article  1). 


The  Phrase.  147 

En  sun  puign  tint  le  brand  d'acier,  Tuz  fut  sanglenz 
e  enochies,  (sc.  del  sane)  De  Sarrazins  envermeillies, 
Gorm.  338;  Qu^il  ne  la  trovera  pas  vuide  (sc.  de  def- 
fanse),  Ainz  li  iert  mout  bien  deffandue,  Se  cele  ne  li 
est  randue,  Clig.  2868;  Que  avuec  moi  ne  avuec  li  N"e 
remest  nus;  ce  m^abeli,  Que  plus  (sc.  de  janz)  n^i  queroie 
veoir,  Ch.  L.  234;  Ja  ainz  ne  passeroit  quinzainne  (sc. 
de  jorz),  ib.  666;  Si  que  il  i  vandra  la  voille  (sc.  (de)  la 
feste ')  Mon  seignor  saint  Jehan  Batiste,  ib.  668. 

D''aus  is  usually  omitted  in  U  uns  V autre : 

Si  het  li  uns  Fautre  de  mort,  Ch.  L.  6066. 

Por  savoir  is  sometimes  understood : 

Mais  qui  I'avrat,  sort  ont  gitet,  Pass.  270;  S'il  en  fu 
lez,  n^estuet  pas  querre,  Greg.  63-4;  Lors  a  an  son  cuer 
remir6  Qui  cil  estoit  et  de  queus  mors,  Clig.  888;  Li 
traitor  sont  a  consoil,  Qu^il  porront  feire  et  devenir,  ib. 
1648;  se  painnent  Comant  il  lor  facent  savoir  Ce  don 
porront  grant  joie  avoir,  ib.  2148;  Mes  a  sa  dame  le 
diroit,  S^il  an  puet  le  congi^  avoir,  Ch.  L.  2542. 

Phrases  introduced  by  que  are  not  infrequently 
omitted : 

Nos  les  aemplirons,  ne  poet  remaneir  mie  (sc.  que  nel 
facions),  Pel.  de  Ch.  690;  Si  ne  mengai  ne  ne  hue,  trois 
jors  a  passes  (sc.  que  ne  Tai  fait),  Auc.  24,  51;  Qu^il 
iroit  veoir  la  fontainne,  Ja  ainz  (sc.  qu'il  le  feist)  ne 
passeroit  quinzainne,  Ch.  L.  665;  Je  desgandi;  il  n^i  ot 
el  (sc.  que  poisse  feire)  Que  mestier  avoie  d^ostel,  ib.  203. 

Qv^  Followed  by  an  Infinitive. 

The  use  of  que  with  an  infinitive  appears  elliptical,  as 
in  the  following  examples : 

Quant  aler  dei,  n^i  ai  plus  que  targier,  Eol.  338;  Apres 
n'i  ot  que  demorer,  Greg.  30-3 ;  Quant  el  mantel  n^ot  rien 
que  feire,  Erec  1631 ;  Miauz  qu^eles  pueent  s'antremetent 

^  See  ellipsis  of  the  noun  feste,  p.  44,  above. 


148  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

De  li  an  tel  guise  atorner  Qu'an  n'i  truisse  rien  qu'aman- 
der,  ib.  1662;  Or  ne  li  set  que  reprochier,  ib.  5138;  An 
eles  n^ot  que  anseignier,  ib.  5224;  Dame,  que  dire?  que 
teisir?  Clig.  4308;  N^avons  ore  plus  que  feire,  ib.  5651; 
De  ce  n'as  tu  que  f aire,  Auc.  2,  32 ;  De  ce  n'eiist  Aucas- 
sins  vos  ^x  que  faire,  ib.  4,  14;  En  paradis  qu^ai  je  a 
f aire  ?  ib.  6,  25 ;  aveuc  ciax  n'ai  jou  que  f aire,  ib.  6,  33 ; 
De  ce  n'aves  vos  que  faire,  ib.  6,  18 ;  Je  ne  vos  sai  or  plus 
que  dire,  Ch.  L.  1080;  Wi  eiissiez  que  demorer,  ib.  1626; 
Plus  que  conter  ne  vos  savroie,  ib.  2161. 

Precisely  in  what  the  omission  consists — if  this  use  of 
que  is  due  to  an  ellipsis — cannot  be  determined  with 
certainty.  The  verbs  devoir  and  pooir  naturally  suggest 
themselves  as  meeting  all  requirements,  but  the  fact  that 
que  with  the  infinitive  is  most  often  found  after  the 
verb  avoir  makes  it  seem  more  probable  that  some  form 
of  avoir  with  the  preposition  a  was  omitted;  thus  aveuc 
ciax  n'ai  jou  que  (sc.  faie  a)  favre.  Whether  these  words 
were  ever  in  actual  use  or  only  existed  vaguely  in  the 
mind,  it  would  be  natural  to  omit  them  because  of  the 
close  recurrence  of  the  same  verb,  as  well  as  the  awk- 
wardness of  the  expression. 

It  is  not  likely  that  with  demorer  and  targier,  que 
means  "  why,  reason  for  which,^^  for  apparently  it  occurs 
only  with  verbs  which  have  a  transitive  use,  and  is  em- 
ployed as  an  object. 

Quel  dolor  *  or  some  similar  expression  may  have  been 
understood  in  exclamations  introduced  by  de: 

Filz  Alexis,  de  ta  dolente  medre!  St.  Alex.  80a;  Filz 
Alexis,  de  la  toe  cham  tendre!  ib.  91a;  0  chiers  amis, 
de  ta  jovente  bele!  ib.  96a;  Lasse,  cheitive,  Del  mellor 

®Cf.  A  las!  quele  dolur,  Fiz,  de  ta  colur,  Omnip.  113a.  It 
is  possible  that  ai,  go  est  or  the  impersonal  a  originally  com- 
pleted the  exclamation. 


The  Phrase.  149 

chevalier  qui  vive,  Del  plus  franc  et  del  plus  jantil !  Erec 
4347. 

The  complete  form  of  the  familiar  qui  ainz  ainz  evi- 
dently does  not  exist : 

Et  qui  ainz  ainz  des  tantes  issent,  Erec  4204 ;  Si  s'an- 
trevienent  qui  ainz  ainz^  Clig.  4695 ;  Et  toz  li  peuples  i 
acort,  Et  un  et  autre,  qui  ainz  ainz,  ib.  6508 ;  Que  il  s'an 
fuient  qui  ainz  ainz,  Ch.  L.  3258. 

However,  an  inkling  of  the  origin  of  this  expression 
may  be  gained  from  a  consideration  of  the  following 
passage :  Pitts  tost  i  vint  qui  plus  tost  i  pout  corre,  St. 
Alex.  103b,  which  might  easily  have  given  rise  to  a  qui 
plus  tost  plus  tost  (i  vin{d)rent) ,  Applying  the  reverse 
manner  of  reasoning  to  qui  ainz  ainz,  it  is  not  difficult 
to  imagine,  at  least  fairly  correctly,  that  this  expres- 
sion is  the  result  of  contraction  in  sentences  similar  in 
construction  to  the  above  passage  from  Saint  Alexis, 
Thus,  for  the  first  of  the  above  examples,  one  may  sup- 
pose the  complete  form  to  have  been :  Qui  ainz  des  tantes 
puet  {issir),  ainz  an  ist^ 

Horn,  dame  {cil,  cele)  qui  est  is  usually  omitted  after 
come  and  qu£  followed  by  an  adjective :  ^"^ 

Si  le  requiert  come  hardiz,  Erec  2879;  Si  les  salue 
come  frans,  ib.  3143;  Eemenez,  si  feroiz  que  sages,  ib. 
4251. 

'Cf.  Villehardouin:  II  ne  demandent  mie  chascuns  qui 
doit  aler  devant;  mais  qui  angois  puet  angois  arive,  in  Ex- 
traits  des  chroniqueurs  frangaiSy  by  G.  Paris  and  A.  Jean- 
roy,  p.  50,  paragraph  3. 
**•  After  come  the  omitted  words  sometimes  occur: 
Tiret  sa  barbe  com  hom  qui  est  iriez,  Rol.  2414;  Charles 
se  dort  com  hom  qui  'st  travailliez,  ib.  2525;  Puis  salua  do- 
ceement,  Come  cil  qui  esteit  senez,  Gr6g.  56-2.  Cf.  Vait  le 
ferir  com  hom  molt  vertudables,  Rol.  3424;  De  sa  destre 
main  s'est  seigniee  Come  dame  bien  anseigniee,  Erec  2383. 


150  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

Qui  est  is  required  in  the  following  passage  because 
of  the  subsequent  use  of  the  relative  pronoun  preceded 
by  the  conjunction  et :  ^ 

"Ha/^  fet  il,  "janz  fole  et  yilainne,  Janz  de  tote 
mauvestie  plainne  Et  qui  a  toz  biens  a  failli,  Ch.  L.  5119. 

Se  je  truis  ou,  etc.,  is  evidently  elliptical,  the  idea 
being,  "  If  I  find  means  by  which  to  bring  it  about, 
accomplish  it '' : 

Se  je  truis  ou,  molt  grant  bataille  i  iert,  Eol.  2676; 
S^il  troevent  ou,  bataille  cuident  rendre,  ib.  3004;  S^il 
troevent  ou,  bataille  i  iert  molt  grant,  ib.  3025. 

After  si  phrases  are  often  understood :  " 

Charles  est  fiers,  et  si  home  vaillant.  One  ne  vi  gent 
qui  si  fust  combatant  (sc.  come  els),  Rol.  3515;  Wi  ot 
chevalier  si  loe  (sc.  con  lui),  Erec  86;  Lors  comanga  li 
diaus  si  forz  (sc.  com  il  ainz  pot).  Quant  Enide  cheoir  le 
vit,  ib.  4608;  Qu^ele  eschape  lues  et  destant,"  Que  riens 
nule  adoise  a  la  clef,  Ja  n^i  tochera  si  soef  (sc.  que  ne 
destande),  Ch.  L.  918;  Que  ja  voir  ne  li  avenist.  Que  si 
vilmant  se  contenist  (sc.  com  il  fist),  Se  il  n^eiist  le  san 
perdu,  ib.  2931. 

So  after  tant  a  phrase  is  frequently  unexpressed : " 

La  joie  de  la  cort  demant.  Que  nule  rien  tant  ne  covoit 
(sc.  come  cele),  Erec  5604;  Mes  de  ce  vos  puis  fol  clamer, 
Quant  vos  le  m^avez  tant  cele  (sc.  com  avez  fet),  Ch.  L. 
584;  N^onques  an  ma  vie  n^anpris  Bataille,  don  tant  me 
dossisse  (sc.  come  me  duel  de  cestui),  Ne  chevalier,  cui 
tant  vossisse  Conoistre  (sc.  come  je  vos  vuel  conoistre), 
ne  cuidai  veoir,  ib.  6242. 

"This  construction,  originating  in  an  ellipsis,  remains  in 
Modern  French,  as:  Bonaparte  se  decida  d  une  mesure 
terrible,  et  qui  est  le  soul  acte  cruel  de  sa  vie,  L.  A.  Thiers' 
UExpedition  de  Bonaparte  en  Egypte,  by  C.  Fabregou,  Bos- 
ton, 1907,  p.  53. 

"  See  Tobler,  V.  B.  1,  110  ff.  (article  19). 

"  Holland  edition — descent. 


The  Phrase.  151 

This  use  of  tant  extends  so  that,  as  the  ellipsis  is  less 
clearly  borne  in  mind,  it  virtually  assumes  the  sense  of 
molt: 

For  ta  seror,  qui  est  tant  gente,  Greg.  4-24 ;  la  cortoise 
dameisele.  Qui  tant  est  avenanz  et  bele,  Ch.  L.  703. 

Ellipsis  of  the  phrase  after  trop:  ^* 

N"e  sa  honte  ne  son  enui  N'e  li  loeroit  ele  mie ;  Car  trop 
est  sa  leans  amie,  Ch.  L.  1746. 

The  superlative  is  formed  through  the  ellipsis  of  the 
second  term  of  the  comparison;  thus  the  comparative 
acquires  the  force  of  the  superlative : " 

N^ot  mal,  don  tant  Poisse  plaindre,  Tant  est  ses  maus 
plus  forz  et  graindre,  Clig.  5483 ;  le  riens  en  tot  le  mont 
que  je  plus  amoie,  Auc.  6,  9. 

There  are  still  many  omissions  of  groups  of  words, 
more  difficult  of  classification,  of  which  a  few  examples 
follow : 

Plainons  ensemble  le  dol  de  nostre  ami,  Tu  (sc.  plain- 
dras  eel)  del  seinor,  jo  Tferai  por  mon  fils,  St.  Alex.  31d; 
Se  revenisses  ta  ^spose  conforter,  (sc.  go  ne  fust)  Por 
felonie  nient  ne  por  lastet,  ib.  95d;  Des !  cum  grant  duel 
e  quel  damage  (sc.  ce  est,  or  que  je  ne  puisse  morir), 
Greg.  28-1;  Deus,  quels  dous  manages  (sc.  ceo  est)  ! 
Eeim.  96a;  Aussi  con  (sc.  ce  fust)  por  anveiseiire  Prist 
le  destrier  et  monta  sus,  Erec  3962;  Et  but  petit,  que  il 
n'osa  (sc.  boivre  molt),  ib.  5169;  Au  tref  le  roi  est  re- 
tornez  Et  tuit  si  conpaignon  ansanble  (sc.  o  lui),  dig. 
1200 ;  La  sepouture  si  assist  Que  nule  autre  chose  n^i  ot 
(sc.  a  feire),  ib.  6156 ;  des  qu'il  vos  plest  (sc.  a  la  bataille 
comancier)  Et  devant  toz  Favez  rovee,  ISTe  vos  doit  pas 
estre  veee,  Ch.  L.  2236;  Qu'il  plovoit  a  si  grant  desroi. 
Con  Damedeus  avoit  de  quoi  (sc.  feire  plovoir),  ib.  4841. 

"See  Tobler,  V.  B.  1,  85  (article  15). 
"  See  Nyrop,  Oram.  vol.  2,  p.  320. 


152  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

A  phrase  is  sometimes  omitted  because  of  words  fol- 
lowing in  another  clause : 

For  quant  il  puot  tant  fait  de  mel,  St.  Leg.  135;  Fuis 
se  combatit  (sc.  od  els)  E  toz  les  venquit,  Keim.  46d; 
Feites  m^aparellier  et  querre,  Que  j^aie  tot  mon  estovoir, 
Erec  5268 ;  Et  li  dist  que,  se  il  voloit,  A  mangier  li  apor- 
teroit,  Ch.  L.  1043;  Ce  qu^ Amors  viaut  (sc.  que  j'aim), 
doi  Je  amer,  ib.  1453;  Ses  salue  et  met  a  reison,  S'il 
sevent,  que  il  li  apraingnent  Noveles  (sc.  d'un  chevalier) 
et  qu^il  li  ansaingnent  Un  chevalier,  que  ele  quiert,  ib. 
5016. 

NON-REPETITION  OF  THE  PHRASE. 

Many  examples  of  this  form  of  ellipsis  are  found: 

"  For  la  vostre  amistet  prez  sui  la  meie  port.''  "  Et  jo, 
sire,  (sc.  sui  prez  que  port)  la  meie/'  dist  Hugue,  Fel.  de 
Ch.  806 ;  Que  mort  I'abat,  cui  qu'en  peist  o  cui  non,  Eol. 
1279 ;  Sanglent  en  at  et  Fhalberc  et  la  brace,  Ses  bons 
chevals  le  col  et  les  espalles,  ib.  1343;  Que  mains  jeue 
qu'ele  ne  siaut  Et  mains  rit  et  mains  esbanoie,  Clig. 
2998;  Cist  est  an  toz  androiz  Assez  plus  janz  et  plus 
adroiz  De  celui  d'ier  as  noires  armes,  Tant  (sc.  plus 
janz)  con  pins  est  plus  biaus  que  charmes,  Et  (sc.  tant 
plus  janz  con)  li  loriers  (sc.  est  plus  biaus)  del  seii,  ib. 
4775 ;  Flus  que  nul  de  toz  ses  neveuz  L'aimme  li  rois  et 
plus  I'enore,  ib.  5062;  Ne  je  nel  puis  a  moi  retreire  Ne 
je  ne  quier  ne  je  ne  puis,  ib.  5190;  Don  il  ne  fera  ja 
proiiere  Ne  autre  por  li,  Ch.  L.  1514;  Qu'avuec  aus 
furent  li  meillor  Des  chevaliers  et  toz  li  plus,  ib.  2692 ; 
Set,  que  li  lions  Fan  mercie  Et  que  devant  lui  s'umelie 
For  le  serpant,  qu'il  avoit  mort,  Et  (sc.  por)  lui  (sc. 
qu'il  avoit)  delivre  de  la  mort,  ib.  3403;  Si  serai  arse 
sanz  respit  For  mal  de  vos  et  por  despit,  ib.  3719. 

After  si  and  tant: " 

Je  ne  me  puis  mes  sostenir,  Si  sui  atainz  et  sormenez, 
Ch.  L.  6300. — Et  le  p;rodome  avuec  sa  fille.  Qui  an  enor 

"See  Tobler,  V.  B.  1,  110  fP.  (article  19). 


The  Phrase.  153 

feire  s'essille,  Tant  est  frans  et  de  buene  part,  Ch.  L. 
705 ;  Et  li  serpanz  est  venimeus,  Si  li  saut  par  la  boche 
feus,  Tant  est  de  felonie  plains,  ib.  3359. 

Phrase  not  repeated  in  a  different  form : 

Sempre  fist  bien  o  que  il  puot,  St.  Leg.  40 ;  De  ses  pers 
priet  a  Deu  que  les  apelt,  Et  puis  de  lui  a  Pangele  Ga- 
briel, Rol.  2261;  Peine  tei  forment  Plus  que  (sc.  ne  te 
penereies  a  fuir)  un  serpent  Pechie  a  fuir!  Reim.  78a; 
Qu'il  n'i  avoit  si  povre  rue,  Ne  fust  plainne  de  chevaliers 
.  .  .  N'ostel  tant  povre  ne  petit,  Erec  552 ;  Del  hernois 
a  parler  ne  fet;  Car  la  granz  povre tez  ne  let  (sc.  a  an 
parler),  ib.  735;  Por  quoi  aussi  come  an  prison  Est 
gardee  an  Costantinoble,  Ja  n'iert  tant  riche  ne  tant 
noble,  Uanpererriz,  queus  qu'ele  soit,  Clig.  6772;  Le 
deble  est  un  de  ceus,  Le  mund  un  autre  de  eus,  Ke  sunt 
mut  decevable.  .  .  .  E  nostre  char  pulente  ...  (sc. 
Fautre  de  eus)  .  .  .  N^ad  nul  si  suttil  Hume  .  .  .  Ke 
ne  seit  deceu  .  .  .  Par  acun  des  treis,  Omnip.  7a. 

Oie,  (nl"  naie,  nenil. 

Tobler's  view,  that  o'il  and  nenil  are  derived  from  hoc 
ille  and  non  ille,  has  supplanted  that  of  Perle" — ^that 
they  developed  from  hoc  illud  and  non  illud.  It  might 
be  added  that  they  are  more  likely  compounds  of  the 
Gallic  form  of  the  Latin  words,  as  are  oie  and  mite." 

These  formulas  of  reply  originated  through  ellipses  of 
the  verb  and  of  the  phrase : 

Oie:  "  Ene  conissies  vos  que  je  vos  ai  pris?  "  "  Sire, 
oie  "  (=  0  je  conois),  Auc.  10,  73 ;  "  me  conissies  vos  ?  ^' 
fait  Aucassins.  "  Oie,  je  sai  bien  que  vos  estes  Aucas- 
sins,"  ib.  24,  33 ;  "  Et  vouriies  vos  que  je  vos  en  ven- 
jasse?"    "  Oie,''  fait  il,  "  volentiers,''  ib.  32,  5;  "saves 

"See  Zts.  f.  vergl.  Sprachforsch.,  N.  F.  3  (1876),  423. 
^'Zts.  f.  r.  Ph.  2  (1878),  p.  4. 

«>See  G.  Paris,  Rom.  7  (1878),  465;  Foerster,  Zts.  f.  r.  Ph. 
2  (1878),  171. 


154  Ellipsis  in  Old  French. 

vos  nient  de  cele  Nicolete  .  .  ?  ^^  "  Sire,  oie,  j^en  sai 
con  de  le  plus  france  creature  .  .  /^  ib.  40,  3. 

Oil:  "Est  ce  tote  la  fins?^^  fait  Aucassins.  "Si 
m^ait  dix/^  fait  li  peres,  "  oil/^  Auc.  10,  57 ;  "  sont  ce  ci 
vostre  anemi  ?  "    "  Oil  sire,"  fait  li  rois,  ib.  32,  3. 

Naie:  Cuidiez  vos  or  que  je  vos  die  Queus  achoisons 
le  fist  mo  voir?  Naie  (=  je  ne  la  vos  dirai  mie),  Eree 
6478;  Qui  le  conoist?— Ne  gie.— Ne  gie,  Clig.  4679;  or 
ne  quidies  mie  que  j^atendisse  tant  que  Je  trovasse  un 
coutel  .  .  .  Naie  voir,  tant  n^atenderoie  je  mie,  Auc. 
14,7. 

Je  non  also  occurs,  but  not  in  place  of  naie: 

"  Car  m'an  dites  voire  novele,  Se  vos  savez,  ou  il  toma 
Et  s^il  an  nul  leu  sejorna !  "  "  Je  non,"  f et  il,  "  se  Deus 
me  voie ! "  Ch.  L.  4920. 

Nenil:  Or  ne  quidies  mie  .  .  .  qu^il  ferist  cevalier 
ne  autres  lui !  Nenil  niSnt !  Auc.  10,  6. 

The  omission  of  a  phrase  after  a  personal  pronoun  is 
not  confined  to  the  negative: 

"  Que  je  sui  de  ceste  bataille  Outrez  et  recreanz  sanz 
faille  I "  "  Mes  gie  I  "— "  Mes  gie,"  fet  cil  et  cil,  Ch.  L. 
6355. 

With  volentiers  phrases  are  often  not  repeated :  ^ 
"  Proiiez  Tan,  nies !  "    "  Volantiers,  sire,"  Clig.  4975. 

**The  phrase  is  sometimes  omitted  when  volentiers  is 
accompanied  by  the  personal  pronoun:  Or  di  coment. — je 
volentiers,  Eles  611  (cited  by  Tobler,  V.  B.  1,  4). 


CONCLUSION 

It  has  been  seen  that  occurrences  of  ellipsis  are  very 
numerous,  and  that  the  kinds  of  omission  are  many,  for 
ellipsis  affects  practically  every  part  of  speech  as  well  as 
groups  of  words.  Most  of  the  omissions  are  intentional, 
and  result  from  a  desire  to  avoid  unnecessary  words. 
Non-repetition  has  been  found  to  be  the  most  usual  kind 
of  such  omissions,  for  it  serves  to  relieve  the  sentence  of 
awkwardness  of  expression.  Among  unintentional  omis- 
sions, which,  resulting  from  the  fusion  of  similar  sounds, 
are  comparatively  few,  several  striking  examples  of 
ellipsis  have  appeared. 

In  the  progress  of  the  work,  we  have  studied  the  origin 
of  those  ellipses  which  seemed  to  require  explanation,  and 
have  attempted  to  establish  more  precise  information 
concerning  the  meaning  and  use  of  certain  words  and 
constructions.  It  is  believed  that  "coalescence^^  and 
"  the  non-repetition  of  closely  recurring  words  and  syl- 
lables '^  have  been  shown  to  possess  real  importance,  and 
to  be  distinct  phases  of  ellipsis — facts  which  seem  hith- 
erto to  have  escaped  notice.  And  it  is  hoped  that  the 
present  study  may  give  rise  to  further  investigation  and 
the  discovery  of  other  noteworthy  ellipses. 


YITA. 

The  author  of  this  dissertation  was  born  in  Upper 
Eed  Hook,  New  York,  September  1,  1885,  and  received 
his  elementary  instruction  in  the  New  York  Public 
Schools.  After  passing  through  the  Academic  Depart- 
ment of  the  College  of  the  City  of  New  York,  he  entered 
the  latter  institution,  from  which  he  received  the  degree 
of  B.  A.  in  1904.  The  following  year,  after  several 
months'  residence  in  Paris,  he  began  studies  under  the 
Faculty  of  Philosophy  of  Columbia  University,  which 
have  continued  until  the  present  time  under  the  instruc- 
tion and  guidance  of  Professor  Henry  A.  Todd  in  Ro- 
mance Philology,  Professor  Adolphe  Cohn,  Professor 
Carlo  L.  Speranza  and  Professor  Louis  A.  Loiseaux  in 
Romance  Literatures,  and  Professor  Jefferson  B. 
Fletcher  and  Dr.  George  P.  Krapp  in  English.  He 
taught  in  the  New  York  Public  Schools  from  1904  to 
1907,  and  was  then  appointed  to  the  College  of  the  City 
of  New  York  as  tutor  in  French,  which  position  he  still 
holds. 


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